The Narrative:

Starting at the beginning there was Augustus Bulleit. A tavern keeper in the 1830’s in Louisville, Kentucky. During that time he dedicated himself to one goal of creating a uniquely flavored bourbon. After experimenting with a number of variations he ended up with a bourbon with the character he had wanted. The uniqueness he found came from the high-rye content in the mashbill. From then on, Augustus continued to produce bourbon until his disappearance in 1860. One day while transporting his bourbon on a flat bottom boat down river from Kentucky to New Orleans, Augustus vanished. What happened to him after 1860 is still largely unknown.

Fast forward over a century and we have Tom Bulleit, who is the great-great grandson of Augustus Bulleit. Tom decides to leave a successful career in the legal profession. He had a dream of reviving the families old bourbon recipe. It was a big risk to take in his life at the time. It’s hard not to think of Jefferson and his “With Great Risk Comes Great Reward” quote. It is said, that when he approached his father about starting in the bourbon business using the families recipe his father told him “that’s between you and your banker”.

So, Tom started the Bulleit brand in 1987. He did not use his families history originally in the backstory of the brand. The original bourbon was centered around Kentucky horse racing. Ancient Age Distillery (Buffalo Trace) contract distilled and bottled the original expressions. The first bottles were released in 1995. The brand was eventually purchased by Seagrams Distillery where the current bottle and “Frontier Whiskey” tagline were crafted to go with the original family story for the recipe. Sadly, Seagrams was later sold and assets divided between two companys, Diageo and Pernod-Ricard. Bulleit was acquired by Diageo who continues to foster the brands success today.