10/05/2024 Bulleit

Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey (40%, OB imported by Bulleit UK): nose: in classic Bourbon fashion, this has a nose full of exuberant vanilla and wood spices, such as powdered ginger and cinnamon, ground cloves, and dried coconut grated so finely it is essentially dust. That quickly grows damper, turning into coconut yoghurt, and something that conjures up memories of the bathroom at my maternal grandmother's -- in other words: some cleaning agent, be it a lemon-scented soap bar, a descaler (who said Zscaler?), or a cream cleaner (Cif comes to mind). The second nose offers something unusual that I would liken to a Pedro-Ximénez type of concoction made of mixed peel and candied citrus segments instead of raisins. Perhaps Cointreau or Grand Marnier would be acceptable comparisons, yet the candied aspect strikes me more clearly, here. We soon return to vanilla, however. Mouth: predictably, it is a combination of vanilla, coconut cream, ground ginger, and a dusting of cinnamon, augmented with a drop of citrus juice. I initially think lemon, but it is actually bergamot, or kumquat, meaning less acidic, and it comes close to a spoonful of marmalade of the stuff, rather than watery juice: it is thick and coating indeed. Chewing reveals a tame wood bitterness (dried orange peels and woodworm-riddled rustic chairs). The second sip, just like the nose, focusses on a citrus liqueur, which is to say that the wood bitterness is mostly fruity, rather than plank-y -- and that is a good thing. Finish: the emphasis is now strongly on citrus, with candied kumquats, crystallised blush-orange segments, and enough thick marmalade to spread on a whole loaf of bread. The coating sweetness that comes with that is aptly balanced by a distinct bitterness. It gives a bit of depth without presenting an insurmountable challenge to the unsuspecting sipper. The second gulp is sweeter yet, a strong coconut yoghurt infused with vanilla extract, and augmented with tangerine segments. All that citrus paints an orange picture, which makes one wonder if that is the reason they chose orange as the colour of the label. Anyway, this is simple, comforting, it is hardly going to change the world, but it does the trick without pretension. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, SL)