Bully Boy American Straight Whiskey ages with grace, not bitterness.

When thinking about their favorite whiskeys, Bully Boy Distilleries kept coming back to balance. Too often whiskey is characterized by extremes: Bourbon being too sweet or Rye being too dry. Their goal was to create a spirit that captured the essence of each without relying too heavily on one. That’s why the mash bill for Bully Boy American Straight Whiskey features corn, which imparts a sweet, bourbon-like overtone, complemented with a healthy dose of rye, which imparts a dry, spicy undertone.

To really enhance and refine the flavor, Bully Boy use the mother of all barrels: charred 53-gallon new American Oak. The wood constituents bring out delicious vanilla and caramel notes, as well as a nutty finish that never overpowers the spirit’s grainy taste. It’s a unique flavor that is both great for sipping or mixed in a cocktail.

When Bully Boy began, they had a shoestring budget and opened their distillery in a poorly insulated, metal warehouse. They quickly discovered that it was like a greenhouse: It was hot in the summer and frigid during the colder months. The big fluctuations in temperature would make the barrels swell and contract, forcing the Bully Boy American Straight Whiskey in and out of the wood. It was a brutal environment to work in, but a great one for aging whiskey.

The Bully Boy American Straight Whiskey is used as the base for their bottled Old Fashioned.

What is a straight whiskey?

Here is the legal definition of straight whiskey from the US standards of identity.

(b)Class 2; whisky. “Whisky” is an alcoholic distillate from a fermented mash of grain produced at less than 190° proof in such manner that the distillate possesses the taste, aroma, and characteristics generally attributed to whisky, stored in oak containers (except that corn whisky need not be so stored), and bottled at not less than 80° proof, and also includes mixtures of such distillates for which no specific standards of identity are prescribed.

(1)

(i) “Bourbon whisky”, “rye whisky”, “wheat whisky”, “malt whisky”, or “rye malt whisky” is whisky produced at not exceeding 160° proof from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn, rye, wheat, malted barley, or malted rye grain, respectively, and stored at not more than 125° proof in charred new oak containers; and also includes mixtures of such whiskies of the same type.

(ii) “Corn whisky” is whisky produced at not exceeding 160° proof from a fermented mash of not less than 80 percent corn grain, and if stored in oak containers stored at not more than 125° proof in used or uncharred new oak containers and not subjected in any manner to treatment with charred wood; and also includes mixtures of such whisky.

(iii) Whiskies conforming to the standards prescribed in paragraphs (b)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section, which have been stored in the type of oak containers prescribed, for a period of 2 years or more shall be further designated as “straight”; for example, “straight bourbon whisky”, “straight corn whisky”, and whisky conforming to the standards prescribed in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section, except that it was produced from a fermented mash of less than 51 percent of any one type of grain, and stored for a period of 2 years or more in charred new oak containers shall be designated merely as “straight whisky”. No other whiskies may be designated “straight”. “Straight whisky” includes mixtures of straight whiskies of the same type produced in the same State.

Learn more at the Bully Boy website.