Bulleit Bourbon's growth has been driven by its distinctive high-rye recipe, effective "Frontier Whiskey" branding, acquisition and strategic focus by the global spirits giant Diageo, and significant investment in dedicated production facilities. The original recipe for a high-rye whiskey was developed by Augustus Bulleit in Louisville, Kentucky. The whiskey disappeared with him when he mysteriously vanished while transporting barrels to New Orleans in the 1860s.

 Thomas E. Bulleit Jr., Augustus's great-great-grandson, fulfilled a lifelong ambition by reviving the family recipe and founding the modern Bulleit Distilling Company in 1987. He initially contracted production to the Leestown Company Distillery (now Buffalo Trace Distillery). The modern "orange label" Bulleit Bourbon first hit retail stores circa 1995, featuring its signature high-rye mash bill (approx. 68% corn, 28% rye, 4% malted barley) and a unique apothecary-style bottle design. 

The brand gained enough initial success by '97 to attract attention, and was acquired by Seagram, the world's largest distiller at the time, which moved production to the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. In 2000, Seagrams was broken up and sold, with Diageo acquiring the Bulleit brand among others. This was a pivotal moment, as Diageo, unlike Seagram, had few American whiskey brands and chose to focus heavily on developing Bulleit in the emerging bourbon renaissance.

Under Diageo, sales accelerated rapidly. The brand grew from selling 180,000 cases in 2000 to over 1.2 million cases by 2017. Bulleit was one of America's fastest-growing whiskeys, with sales increasing by 69% in 2014 and 27% in the U.S. in 2016 alone. This collection is an archive of history, preserving and providing unparalled access to unique, primary-source records of the Bulleit brands. There are one-of-a-kind items, historical bottles, original letters, documents, photographs and private items that have never been seen before.