Before there was bourbon in America, there was rye. The grain that started it all, rye is the backbone of America’s legacy in making good whiskey, distilled in the States longer than any other style. Today, rye is a fixture on every well-stocked backbar. Bulleit has continued to push the structure that defined early American distilling, from its classic high-rye bourbon to aged rye expressions. 

Now, Bulleit continues its rye story with the launch of Bulleit 20-Year-Old Rye, the brand’s oldest ever Straight Rye Whiskey limited to just 1,776 bottles. 

Made from Bulleit’s signature 95% rye mashbill and aged for two decades, Bulleit 20-Year-Old Straight Rye was developed by the Bulleit Distilling Co. team with a blend crafted by Nicole Austin, Director of American Whiskey Liquid Development and Capabilities at Diageo. Austin led the barrel selection and blending process alongside the Bulleit team, choosing barrels that could carry twenty years of age while preserving the bold rye character that has defined Bulleit from the beginning. 

With an outturn of just 1,776 individually numbered bottles, the label nods to a defining moment in American history while staying focused on the drink: a deeply aged, cask-strength rye that honors the grain that shaped American whiskey and builds on Bulleit’s role in its modern comeback.

“With a rye this mature, the challenge is finding barrels where age adds depth without overwhelming the grain,” Austin said in a news release. “We wanted the spice and structure that define Bulleit Rye to stay front and center, while allowing twenty years of maturation to reveal new layers of complexity. The final whiskey has the spice people expect from Bulleit, with a depth that could only come from time.”

Distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and aged for twenty years in Kentucky warehouses, the whiskey was carefully monitored throughout maturation before being bottled at cask strength (ABV: 68.5% | Proof: 137). 

“Rye has always had a certain edge to it, which is exactly why it made sense for Bulleit from the brand’s inception,” Brian Blackiston, Brand Manager for Bulleit Frontier Whiskey at Diageo, said. “In the earliest days of American whiskey, rye brought structure, spice and resilience to the glass in a way that helped distinguish it from other grains. 

“When the category was still working its way back into the spotlight, Bulleit leaned in with a style that gave bartenders and whiskey drinkers more bite and more dimension. Bulleit 20-Year-Old Rye pays homage to that history while building on our own, showing what our signature rye character can become after two decades in barrel.”

Bulleit 20-Year-Old Rye Whiskey will be available beginning July 2026, in limited quantities at the Bulleit Distillery and select cities nationwide with a suggested retail price of $299 for a 750mL bottle. To reserve a bottle at the Bulleit Distilling Company for pickup, visit AnyRoad.

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ABOUT BULLEIT

Founded in 1987, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey was inspired by an old recipe that turned into one of the fastest-growing whiskeys in America. Unlike traditional corn-forward bourbons, Bulleit is known for using a high rye mashbill, resulting in a bold, spicy character with an unexpectedly smooth finish. It offers a distinctive take on whiskies that sets it apart from the start. For more information about Bulleit Frontier Whiskey and the distillery, visit https://www.bulleit.com/.