Bulleit ’87 Review: A $28 Bourbon and Rye Blend

Bulleit ’87 delivers bourbon sweetness, rye spice, and subtle toasted oak for the $28 we paid. We like this 90-proof bourbon-and-rye blend as an everyday sipper, especially neat, and both of us see it as a strong budget bottle.

At a glance

• Style: Bourbon and rye whiskey blend
• Proof: 90
• Age: Both components aged separately for at least four years
• Finish: Toasted American oak and French oak staves
• Price: $28 at Fred Liquors in St. Mary’s County, Maryland
• Ratings: Both of us gave it a solid blue on our scale

Bulleit’s first new core bottle in 15 years

Bulleit ’87 is the brand’s first new core-lineup addition in 15 years. It’s also Bulleit’s first bourbon-and-rye blend and its first whiskey finished with toasted oak staves. The ’87 name refers to 1987, the year Bulleit was founded.

When we found our bottle, Bulleit’s release information pointed to September. We scanned it into OnlyDrams, which returned “bottle not found.” Fred Liquors already had it on the shelf, though.

We enjoyed Bulleit Mesquite Malt for its unique flavor, but that was a limited release. With ’87 joining the core lineup, we expect it to become widely available.

Kentucky bourbon and Indiana rye, finished separately

The bourbon component comes from Shelbyville, Kentucky. The rye comes from Lawrenceburg, Indiana, which we recognize as MGP. It’s essentially the same rye component used in Bulleit 95 Rye, a whiskey we already enjoy.

The bourbon and rye stay separate through aging and finishing. Bulleit adds toasted American oak and French oak staves directly to the original barrels for four to six weeks. Then it blends the two finished whiskeys together.

We both liked Knob Creek Bourbon x Rye, so this kind of blend already appeals to us. Bourbon brings the sweetness, while rye brings the spice. Here, those flavors mesh well, with the toasted oak adding another layer.

Nose: caramel, brown sugar, oak, and spice

Caramel and brown sugar lead the nose. Oak follows, along with a little baking spice that we take to be the rye showing through.

For us, it moves from sweet to oak to spice. The nose is a little lean, with fairly basic notes, but it smells good. At 90 proof, we weren’t expecting a huge nose.

Palate: familiar sweetness with subtle toasted oak

The caramel and brown sugar carry straight onto the palate. We also get vanilla and that familiar Bulleit bourbon sweetness.

The toasted oak stays subtle. It doesn’t overwhelm the whiskey, and the baking spice becomes more noticeable toward the back end.

The texture is a little thin on the tongue. Even so, there’s moderate warmth for 90 proof, so it doesn’t feel completely light. That warmth gives the pour a little more presence than its texture suggests.

We’d be interested to see how it opens up after the bottle has been open longer. These impressions come from our first pour.

Finish: gentle layers and lingering rye spice

The finish is sweet, gentle, and layered. A little toasted character hangs around, then the rye spice comes back to remind us what’s in the blend.

That spice lingers for a bit. We particularly like how it returns at the end without taking over the whole pour.

Neat or in an Old Fashioned

We really enjoy this neat. It has enough flavor and warmth to work as a daily sipper without needing anything added.

We also think it could work well in an Old Fashioned with a large ice cube. At 90 proof, we’d want to avoid watering it down too much. The rye spice could give the cocktail a little extra character.

For someone new to rye, we think this is a good transition bottle. The bourbon sweetness gives you something familiar while you get used to that rye spice.

A shelf staple for under $30

Nothing here strikes us as extraordinary, and nothing feels obviously missing. It’s simply a well-balanced, enjoyable pour at a great price. That’s enough to make Bulleit ’87 a bottle we’d happily keep on the shelf.