Number one with a Bulleit

Thomas Bulleit took a circuitous route into the family business, but now he’s about to open a new $130m distillery

Tom Bulleit with his signature Bourbon, a sweet drink with a floral tone and a hint of vanilla

When you think of a Kentucky- born lawyer turned bourbon magnate, whose great- great-grandfather began experimenting with bourbon back in 1830, you might expect to see a smooth-talking, glad-handing, larger-than-life magnate, possibly dressed in a white three-piece suit and ten-gallon hat.

That was certainly what was at the back of my mind when I met the lean, self-effacing Thomas E Bulleit, founder of Bulleit Frontier whiskey in its contemporary form. (Bulleit, for the ...