What to Mix with Bulleit Bourbon

Short answer: ginger ale, cola, lemonade, bitters and syrup, or coffee. Five builds are below, each one measured.

Bulleit Bourbon is bottled at 45% ABV, higher than the 40% floor for the category, and it runs a higher rye proportion than most bourbons. Both facts change how it behaves in a mixed drink.

The flavor profile section that used to sit at the top of this page has been removed. We sell this bottle, so describing how it tastes is advertising rather than information.

High-rye bourbon, and why it matters

Bourbon needs at least 51% corn. What fills the remainder is the distiller’s choice, and it is usually rye or wheat. Bulleit uses a comparatively high rye proportion.

The practical consequence is that recipes calling generically for bourbon will land differently with a high-rye one than with a wheated bourbon. That is not better or worse, but it is why a drink you liked at a bar can taste different at home with a different bottle and the same recipe.

At 45% ABV a 1.5 oz pour is about 1.1 standard drinks.

Five builds

Kentucky mule

• 1.5 oz bourbon
• 0.5 oz fresh lime juice
• 4 oz ginger ale, or ginger beer for a drier version

Build over ice, stir, lime wedge.

Bourbon and cola

• 1.5 oz bourbon
• 4 oz cola
• Squeeze of lime

Build over ice, stir gently.

Bourbon lemonade

• 1.5 oz bourbon
• 4 oz lemonade
• Lemon slice

Build over ice. The longest of the five and the easiest to drink quickly, which is worth noticing.

Old Fashioned

• 2 oz bourbon
• 0.25 oz simple syrup, or a sugar cube
• 2 dashes aromatic bitters
• Orange peel

Stir with a large cube until properly cold, which takes longer than most people give it. Express the orange peel over the glass before dropping it in.

Kentucky coffee

• 1.5 oz bourbon
• 6 oz coffee
• Brown sugar and cream to taste

Stir together. Worth saying plainly that caffeine does not offset alcohol. It makes you feel more alert without making you any less impaired, which is the reason that combination is worth being careful with.

The fine print

What’s available depends on your address. Enter it and we’ll show you what’s in stock nearby. Delivery is $4.99, plus applicable taxes and fees, shown before you order, as fast as 25 minutes in the best case. Alcohol is 21 and up. ID at the door, every time, no exceptions and no negotiating with the driver.

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