The five Bushmills Drams!
Bushmills was the selected distillery for Wednesday nights Tweet Tasting and we had the chance to try five of their superior Whiskey range.
Bushmills is the oldest licensed distillery in the world (1608) and their recent acquisition by Jose Cuervo could herald the start of a new era for this most famous of Irish distilleries.
The event was once again ably hosted by Steve from The Whisky Wire and the drams sampled were:-
- Bushmills Original
- Bushmills Black Bush
- Bushmills 10 Year Old Single Malt
- Bushmills 12 Year Old Distillery Reserve
- Bushmills 16 Year Old Old Single Malt
One thing that became obvious during the night was how consistent the core flavours were over the range – in short, tropical fruits abound!
If you want to catch up on what all the tasters had to say you can view the tweets by searching for the hash tag #BushmillsWhiskey on Twitter.
So, what did I think?
Here are my tasting notes … and the one which was my favourite on the night!
Tasting Notes – Bushmills Original Whiskey ( 40% )
A NAS blend of triple distilled Irish single malt & Irish grain whiskey. Matured for at least 5 years in American oak casks. It is named after the River Bush, a fine salmon river that powered the textile mills of the Scottish settlers.
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Nose: Fruity vanilla, slightly woody, furniture polish and then those “little green apples” start to come thru. Closely followed by pineapple, peach & mint – a feast! Palate: Fruit cake mixture, sweet, with a little caramel thrown in. Finish: Very smooth with a satisfying, spicy finish – quite short. Overall: The Chilli is on slow burn but makes itself known after a time making this a very sippable dram indeed! |
Tasting Notes – Bushmills Black Bush Whiskey ( 40% )
Made up of 80% malt whiskey & matured for up to 7 years in oloroso sherry casks & bourbon barrels.
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Nose: More honey & caramel than the Original & more body menthol. There’s lots of apples as well as a smattering of demerera and rum. Palate: Still getting sweet fruit cake mixture but there’s more treacle & it’s lovely and smooth! Finish: A sweeter dram than the Original, syrupy and full of chilli spice. Overall: Another short finish but it’s spiciness is warming my cockles! A welcome addition to any drinks selection! |
Tasting Notes – Bushmills 10 Year Old Single Malt Whiskey (40%)
Matured for at least 10 years mainly in bourbon barrels.
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Nose: Less sweetness than the previous drams with hints of pears & pineapple – ‘thinner’. Plus there’s bananas, apples giving some very fresh and clean aromas! Palate: Light mouthfeel, pineapple, mango – basically 40% Lilt! Finish: The spice seemed to disappear from this but then made a welcome return right at the end – it’s a bit shyer on this dram! Overall: Another winner and continuing the tropical fruit theme that runs through all these drams. |
Tasting Notes – Bushmills 12 Year Old Distillery Reserve Whiskey ( 40% )
Matured mainly in oloroso sherry casks and only available from the Bushmills distillery shop.
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Nose: Vanilla & syrupy apples, pineapple, icing sugar. Palate: Rich tropical fruit with a mango hit – nicely sweet. Finish: Nutty caramel with a well balanced spiciness to finish. Overall: Bit of a slow burner the 12YO- needs time to develop in the glass but stick with it and the rewards will come to those who wait! |
Tasting Notes – Bushmills 16 Year Old Single Malt Whiskey (40%)
Made with two whiskies that have been matured for 16 years – one from a bourbon barrel the second from a sherry cask. They are then married together in port infused casks.
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Nose: Fruit cake, sherry & port are very present. In addition there’s caramel and blackcurrant which was a revelation. Palate: Sweet port giving way to pineapple & fruit sugar syrup. Finish: The sweetness lingers and only gives way slightly to some welcoming spiciness! Overall: These older drams certainly benefit from a little more time in the glass. Satisfying, rich mature flavours with lovely port being quite prominent. |
My Favourite On The Night
Black Bush – smooth, sweet, full of chilli spice & fantastically priced.
But all had an interesting array of flavours – a close second being the 16 year old!
Many thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire (@TheWhiskyWire) for a great dram evening.
And of course, Bushmills, without whom!
My fellow Tweeters were:-
@Whisky_Magazine @WhiskyDiscovery @DrinksEnthusist @EdinburghWhisky @Drinkmonger @brawspirit @BeersIveKnown @dvdbloke @mynameisgone @NeilMacKinnon1 @Andrew1McCallum @jpbglover11 @msykesjones @cache1337 @rodbodtoo @AWhetForWhisky @kaskwhisky @GingerWhisky1 @TheWhiskyKiwi @Whisky_Belfast @TheWhiskyphiles @MarkGwhisky @MrMDMaloney @bobsta1975 @annawizauk @Girl_Whisky @WhiskySpeller
Bushmills is available to buy from these Whisky Merchants:-
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