Bushmills - "Steamship" Sherry Cask - Review

For too long I had stood by and watched my beloved Bushmills become seemingly stuck in the mud while every other Irish whiskey company moved onto the tarmac and planted their respective accelerators, sending them off into the Irish whiskey future.

This was of course until 2014 when the magical news came through that the evil overlords Diageo had been ousted from their Northern Irish coastal base by the family owned company Jose Cuervo. 

Now, say what you like about Diageo, but the truth is they seemed to have absolutely no interest in promoting the Bushmills brand in any shape or form.  Yes they may have provided significant inward investment into the distillery, but, without any outward activity, the brand was always going to stagnate in a market that was growing faster than any other in the drinks industry.

The arrival of Jose Cuervo was therefore a breath of fresh air and they immediately set their stall out by stating that they understood "the importance of nurturing and protecting the heritage and quality of a brand" and that they were "strongly committed to doing exactly that with Bushmills".

At long last Bushmills was back, or at least it should've been.

At various tastings I heard rumours of new ideas, and possible single cask releases, but for the better part of 18 months Bushmills seemed to remain quiet.

This all changed in February of this year when, finally, we had a new release to celebrate.

This was of course the announcement of the new "Steamship" collection, a collection consisting of three permanent “special cask matured” variants plus regular limited edition releases.

The collection itself was inspired by the historical SS Bushmills steamship and celebrates its maiden voyage in the 1890s.  After being commissioned, by then owner the Boyd Brothers, it sailed across the world, travelling as far as Philadelphia and Yokohama, returning with refilled casks of rum, fortfied wine and Bourbon.

The first release in this range was the Sherry Cask Reserve, a no-age-statement single malt Irish whiskey exclusively matured in Oloroso Sherry butts before being bottled at 40% ABV and put on sale at a price of £65.

Being a NAS whiskey, travel retail only and at a relatively high price point I had my concerns.  This wasn't exactly what I had wanted to see but I suppose I should've been grateful there was any release at all.  I only hoped the flavour, and style, of the whiskey would hold up to scrutiny.

Onto my notes:

Nose - Classic cut grass Bushmills nose.  Mashed banana on brown toast, a little candied sweetness, cinnamon lozenges, alcohol soaked raisins and light Christmas cake.  A lot more of the lighter and sweeter than the deeper and heavier, if you know what I mean.  Pressed apple juice and gentle red fruits with hints of strawberry and black cherry.  The lack of depth highlights the youthfulness and for being matured exclusively in Sherry casks it feels like the casks may have been a little "tired".  Flavours are nice but in truth I was expecting a little more.

Palate - Shockingly poor mouth feel.  Thin to the point of diluted.  What flavours you do get are some spiced sherry fruits and a little sweet orchard fruits.  This feels like a beginners whiskey.  No depth, no balance, no age and no character.  Really disappointing.  This is screaming out for more maturation, and a higher strength, but unfortunately has neither.

Finish - Thankfully short, allowing me to find something better to drink.

Well that's completely taken the wind out of my sails.  Any hope, and excitement, I had about the future of this fantastic distillery has been wiped out in one glass.

Taking over a distillery, of this magnitude, you need to hit the ground running, in a market that's growing so quickly.  Instead they have released, in my opinion, overpriced nonsense that will only damage whatever reputation was left after the dark days of Diageo.

Looking forward things aren't much better with a Port Cask release on the horizon.  Another 40% ABV, NAS bottling with another £30+ added onto the price.

What angers me even more is when you're at a Bushmills tasting, you get a sense of what whiskey they have under their control.  When you speak with the long term staff, you get a feeling of the pride and ambition they have.  When you taste certain other Irish whiskeys, that may be using Bushmills spirit, you see exactly what they could be capable of.

Instead we're left with sub-standard, travel retail only, releases that could damage Bushmills beyond repair.

I'd love to know where their aversion to bottling at a higher strength comes from?  Bushmills is a beautifully light and delicate spirit, and that can come through delightfully in some releases, but I see no harm in giving the whole range a boost by simply upping the strength to maybe 46% ABV. 

It's obvious that this Steamship Sherry Cask would've benefitted from it.

I will certainly sample the Port Cask release but there's no way I'll be buying a bottle and if the quality is similar to this release I may have to abandon sampling this Steamship collection altogether.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

Teeling Single Cask - Cask 926 - Madeira Finish - Review

As Irish Whiskey continues to grow it is obvious to many that The Teeling Whiskey Company are right at the forefront of it's growth.  Since their formation, in 2012, they have set a high standard with excellent general releases and the opening, in 2015, of their brand new distillery and visitors centre.

As mentioned, the general releases coming from The Teeling Whiskey Company are of a very good standard and this has allowed them to build a solid reputation, but if you want to delve deeper into the treasure trove of whiskeys they have in their possession then you should look a little further.

A more detailed internet search will reveal a wealth of other bottlings that should rouse the interest of any whiskey lover.  The main bulk of these bottlings are single malt, single casks that have been finished in a range of interesting woods and it is one of these type of bottlings that I wish to talk about.

Back in July 2015 the Celtic Whiskey Club sent it's members out a sample of such a bottling.  This was a sample of a Teeling Single Cask that had been finished in a Madeira barrel.  Initially distilled in 2002, at "an undisclosed distillery in the North of Ireland", the spirit was matured in a refill Bourbon barrel before being finished in a Madeira barrel for a period of a year.

The cask was number 926 which yielded 315 bottles at a natural cask strength of 55.9% ABV.  These were obviously bottled without chill-filtration and without the addition of any colouring.

Onto my notes:

Nose - Sweet with the malt and Madeira.  Distinctly "North of Ireland" and much like the Bushmills 10 year old.  Slight grassy note and quite green with green apple and unripe banana.  Wood influence is slightly understated.  Feels like the Bourbon barrel was quite tired and the Madeira barrel has had more of a say with some sweet, dried fruit and a little damp, dusty note.  Subtle clove and black pepper.  We now get more of the Madeira notes with some orange oil and over ripe red apple.  The spirit still has a nice vibrancy and the balance isn't too bad.  With time a little creamy vanilla comes through and binds the flavours together.  With water the experience instantly becomes more like Christmas cake with touches of cinnamon.  The madeira influence is coming into it's own and works well with the malt.

Palate - Sour, bitter arrival.  Moves towards the sweet momentarily before jolting into pepper and clove.  As the heat eases we drift back to sweet red apple and orange but the spice continues to linger in the background.  With water the sour arrival is balanced out towards the sweet fruits.  Emphasis is on red apple, red currant and old wood.  The spices still try to have their say but are much more subdued.  The light vanilla also makes an appearance on the palate and again brings it all together.

Finish - Decent length with more red apple and dry spice.  Fruity to the end and becoming fresher, with water, as the spice seems to die first giving the dram a moreish feel.

Overall this is a good, decent dram.  Classic young Bushmills with a nice Madeira touch, almost like a younger brother to the Bushmills 21 year old.  When poured neat, the spirit is a little on the feisty side.  It definitely takes a little water to calm it down and bring the flavours together, but it's very worthwhile to get a new Bushmills experience.

This sample was of particular interest to me as I have a very similar bottle in the house, except my bottle comes from cask number 935 and was bottled at 55.5% ABV, and the whole time I was sipping at this sample I couldn't help but think that cask 926 just wasn't quite as good as cask 935. 

This, however, only backs up what I have said before in that this is what makes single cask bottlings so interesting.  Never will you get two casks the same and this will lead to each cask delivering a different experience into each bottle that comes from that cask.  For me, this alone is reason enough to seek these bottles out.  What I find excellent, others may find slightly disappointing or vice versa, but this only adds to the enjoyment of whiskey.

Lastly I would like to make one other point.  While I have been mentioning Bushmills, quite a lot through this "Teeling" review, I would like to heap praise upon The Teeling Whiskey Company. 

Everyone should be obviously aware that Teeling are a new distillery, and naturally can't have their own spirit at this age, so therefore they have to have stock from other distilleries in order to get their name out there.  But what they also have is the skill and expertise in order to make sure that the liquid in a "Teeling" bottle lives up to the reputation they are aiming for.

As we have seen, a little too often, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to obtain stock from elsewhere and throw it into a hastily released product.  But what we have also seen is that this only leads to poor quality products which reflect badly on an industry that is trying so very hard to make a strong name for itself.

What Teeling are doing, however, is ensuring that, through excellent cask management and innovative ideas, they are strengthening the name of Irish whiskey and one can almost be certain that this will continue long past the time when their own spirit will be ready for bottling.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

Bushmills - Tweet Tasting - Review

Recently I took part in another fantastic Tweet Tasting, hosted by Steve Rush of "TheWhiskyWire.com", in which all involved were presented with 5 samples from the "Oldest Distillery In The World" - Bushmills.

The samples on show were the Original, Black Bush, 10yo, 12yo Distillery Reserve and the 16yo.

Bushmills is a distillery that I have had much experience of, both through it's official bottlings, and bottlings through other labels, and to be perfectly honest there's been some mixed results.

I often find that while the flavours of the spirit are light and delicately delicious, the way in which the official bottlings are presented does not do much to bring the flavours across in all their glory.

Most official bottlings are bottled at 40% ABV, and undoubtedly with the use of chill filtration and E150a, yet a lot of the other bottlings are of a higher strength and presented in their natural form. 

These other bottlings I am referring to include those offered by The Palace Bar, Teeling, Knappogue Castle and The Celtic Whiskey Shop.  All of which have either been confirmed as Bushmills or are very probably Bushmills due to other information to hand.

All that said, it wouldn't take very much for Bushmills to hit the stratosphere with a little bit of tweeking in their production line and hopefully, now that Diageo have buggered off, they can get on with what they do best and produce great whiskey.

Until that time though there will obviously be a transition and we will have to be patient as the new owners find their feet in the Irish whiskey industry.

While we're waiting, we still have a good range of official bottles to try and I had been looking forward to this tasting as, whilst I have tried all the whiskeys before, I had never tried them all side by side.

Onto my notes:

Bushmills - Original

Nose - Fresh green apple, light and clean with a little malted sweetness and light grains making their presence felt.  "Rice Krispies" breakfast cereal and a little unripe banana.  Some light perfume / floral notes appear along with a definite sweet caramel and vanilla from the oak.  In time some citrus comes through but it's all very gentle and laid back.  If you weren't trying you'd almost definitely miss a few of these flavours and I guess that might be the point as this makes it an easy starting point for newcomers with no difficult flavours to contend with.

Palate - Light and sweet with more emphasis on orange citrus and now some heat in the form of black pepper and chilli flakes.  A little water eases the heat brilliantly and allows some dry oak spice and lemon drops to come through.

Finish - Short, clean and slightly drying.

Bushmills - Black Bush

Nose - More tropical, from the influence of sherry casks.  Ripe banana, deeper orange, slight menthol,  grapefruit and a sweeter, stickier malt.  Brown sugar syrup, a little milk chocolate which isn't unlike "Terry's Chocolate Orange".  As the nose opens up you definitely start to get the darker sherry notes.  Mixed spice, dried fruits, dried fruit mix that includes dried orange and lemon peel.  Christmas cake for sure and maybe some "Jamaica Ginger Cake".  Right at the end I got a distinct note of crushed walnut.  Excellent nose for a humble blend.

Palate - Sweet and sour arrival that moves over for lovely sherried flavours.  Rich mixed spice, deep, intensely rich, orange.  A little chilli shows itself again but this is much more balanced than the Original.  Menthol is still present on the palate and you get a sense that the malt whiskey used in Black Bush is of a very high standard indeed.

Finish - Not too bad at all with a lovely dryness from the oak and a concentrated red apple flavour that borders on sour red apple sweets.

Bushmills - 10yo

Nose - Still some tropical banana and light pineapple but this is a great deal more "green" in it's delivery with apples and pears also on show.  Some honey sweetness appears but at the same time you get a savoury feel to the whiskey, if that makes any sense??  The oak effect is here but the spirit dominates in a good way.  Lemon biscuits with vanilla cream.  Very fresh and summery.

Palate - Sweet red apples, good hefty kick of peppery spice and cooked oranges.  Menthol with oak spice.  With a little water a slight herbal note appears, this is a note I rarely find but could easily pick up in this whiskey, which to me underlines it's "green" qualities.  Some malted biscuits towards the end.  Again, this is all very clean and inoffensive.

Finish - Ok with apples and a little spice.

Bushmills 12yo Distillery Reserve

Nose - Honey, toffee apples, orange barley sweets (you can see the distillery spirit character flavours each time here) and banana ice cream.  Just a little dusty wood lurks in the background and then the dried fruits start to appear.  More cooked orange, red apple, cinnamon and creamy butter notes show through.  As this sits in the glass more of the dusty continues to evolve with leather and old books.

Palate - Salted caramel, light spice and hints of blackcurrants and raspberries.  More duty old sherry wood appears here with, again, cooked orange and maybe just some more chocolate.

Finish - Again, ok with warm spices and red apples.

Bushmills - 16yo

Nose - Deep, rich, buttery banana, raspberry coulis, blackcurrants, in fact most berries seem to be in here.  Blood orange marmalade, brown sugar and this actually retains it's freshness quite well before moving anywhere near anything resembling old dustiness.  The Port cask influence keeps this rich with red fruits and this is definitely not as musty as the 12yo.  Spice is soft and easy going.  This is how marriage of maturation should be done.

Palate - Intense rich berries, undiluted "Ribena", raspberry coulis and apple + blackberry crumble.  Dark chocolate orange, stewed orange and mixed spice.  Christmas cake, cherry bakewell tarts.  Indulgent and beautifully presented, lord only knows how good this would be at 46% and un-chill filtered....I'd say it would be one of the best whiskies in the world.  Huge statement I know but it really is that good.

Finish - So moreish with red fruit goodness.

Overall it was so enjoyable to work my way through the Bushmills range from, more or less, start to finish. 

The winner was undoubtedly the 16yo by a fair distance ahead of the 10yo which only just pipped the 12yo.  Then out of the blends the Black Bush easily won over the Original.

If I'm being honest though the 16yo is really the only one of these I would recommend with any great conviction.  The rest of the range is obviously well made, and carries some lovely character flavours, but in my opinion Bushmills need to do more.

Their spirit is so delicate that I feel it needs either to be bottled at a higher ABV or matured in more extravagant casks to elevate it to a higher level.  The 10yo and 12yo just don't have enough oomph behind them to really make them "stand out" whiskeys.

The 16yo gets through because of the extra influence of Port casks and I have previously enjoyed their 21yo, which also gets by due to the extra influence of Madeira casks.

When you see what Teeling (Rum amongst others), Celtic Whiskey Shop (Anima Negra Wine) and Knappogue (Marsala) are maturing their stocks of Bushmills, and then look at how well these come across at a higher strength along with the Place Bar's bottling "Fourth Estate", it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the direction Bushmills should be going.

For sure this may rock the boat with the long term, die hard fans but I honestly believe that something has to change if Bushmills are to maintain, and grow, their standing amongst Irish whiskey; and let's be honest it's only going to get tougher with the amount of new distilleries that are quickly catching up.

I'll finish with this though, and I've said it before, this is a very exciting time for Irish whiskey and long may it continue.

As always, a massive thank you to Steve at "TheWhiskyWire.com" for hosting the tasting and to Bushmills for the samples.
Until next time,

Sláinte

SI




N.B. Apologies for the different shaped images but they were the best I could find.

An Evening With Bushmills Master Distiller Colum Egan

Previously I have spoken, with great sadness, at the lack of genuine whiskey events taking place in this wonderful city.  Apart from the Hudson Bar's whiskey club and a small number of other excellent establishments, that simply boast a fine selection of whiskey, there really isn't that much to get your teeth into.  

That was until the Merchant Hotel, situated in Waring Street, Belfast, grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns and announced their first ever "By The Fire" event.

Being blessed with a sumptuous interior the Merchant Hotel has the perfect setting to host top quality whiskey events and what better way for a Northern Irish hotel to kick things off than by hosting the master distiller of Northern Ireland's most famous distillery, Bushmills.

For, in my opinion, the small price of £25 you were able to guarantee yourself an evening of "whiskey tasting and informative discussion" with Colum Egan himself.

Tickets in hand, my girlfriend and I made our way down to the hotel and entered through the magnificent entrance to be directed towards a side room.  Upon walking into the venue for the evening it was clear that my previous thoughts of the hotel having the perfect setting were spot on.  Lush decor and elegant lighting provided the backdrop to what was going to be a truly intimate tasting.

To kick things off we were treated to a fine cocktail reception but unfortunately I missed the the name of the delicious citrus liquid that cleansed the palate perfectly in anticipation of things to come.

We then took our seats and surveyed the delights that had been laid out in front of us.  Five Bushmills' drams were ready and waiting: Original, Black Bush, 10yo, 16yo and 21yo.

Naturally the first of the night was the Original and this was an ideal whiskey to get us going.  Lighter and smoother than I remember, this allowed all those present to get their bearings and also allowed Colum to guide us into what was more of an engaging discussion between himself and tasters rather than a typical masterclass.

Questions flowed and Colum was not found wanting.  The answers were delivered with a real air of confidence and insight that would have taught even the most experienced drinker a thing or two.

As the "Original" was finished off a number of hotel staff swooped in and provided us all with small plates of Canapés to be enjoyed as food pairings for each of the remaining four samples and the match ups were as follows:

Black Bush - Foie Gras

10yo - White Chocolate Fudge

16yo - Blue Cheese

21yo - Dark Chocolate Truffle

Each was absolutely delicious!!

Although we had a set list of whiskeys, that were in a regular order, the questions touched on all aspects of Bushmills, and each of their whiskeys, in random order. 

While discussing the 21yo we were informed that this age was selected as it resonated perfectly with a "coming of age".  Colum continued by touching on stock control and the work that has to go into ensuring that the 21yo, and all expressions for that matter, are continuously released to the same high standard year on year.

As Colum spoke you got a true sense of passion and pride with his number one priority appearing to be the task of producing all Bushmills whiskey in the same manner that it has been produced for 100's of years.  This, he says, is his belief why Bushmills has stood the test of time.

We moved onto discussing the 16yo and, not for the first time, it was described as possibly being "pound for pound, the best whiskey in the world".  Whether this is a marketing ploy that has been slowly circulating around the whiskey world, or a genuine feeling from everyone who samples the 16yo, it is obvious that it does display a serious amount of brilliance for a relatively small price.  I have, at certain times, seen this as cheap as £30 in Sainsbury's.

While discussing all of the whiskeys on show we discovered that, generally speaking, the 16yo and 21yo are more or less completely made up of whiskeys of that age whilst the 10yo contains a certain amount of 13yo.  

As the night ticked on we inevitably got onto the hot topic of the last few months...the change of ownership.

For those of you that have been living in a whiskey void it was announced a few months ago that Diageo were relinquishing their control over Bushmills to further their interest in the tequila market.  The new owners are to be Jose Ceurvo who bring with them a feeling of a family run business with the focus going back towards craft and quality.

As we spoke of the exciting times ahead Colum was quick to praise Diageo and their internal investment citing a figure of £50 million that had been spent in the 9 years they were in control.  It is obvious that Bushmills has benefited from the Diageo ownership but in a time where whiskey companies are expanding their portfolios it seems the right time for Bushmills to get a new lease of life.

A feeling was talked about that Bushmills was about to go from being the small fish in a big pond to a rather large fish in a small pond thus allowing the focus to be on the spirit they produce and the people who make it.  As highlighted in a recent article in "Whisky Magazine" the people of Bushmills know their whiskey and know what works so, for god's sake, please let them do it.

As the discussion progressed there was a great sense of hope and excitement of what the future might bring, with murmurings of possible innovation and new ideas coming to life, could we be on the cusp of seeing some absolutely stunning whiskey coming out of Bushmills?  

In my opinion single casks would be a good start and, after my personal tastings of recent Celtic Cask releases, I know fine rightly that some interesting cask finishes wouldn't go amiss either.  I live in hope.  What is clear though that any new styles, or releases, that may appear, are still a few years away.

As the night finished off we ended on a touching note.  Having enjoyed our time with Colum, and the delicious Bushmills drams, we were cordially welcomed into the Bushmills family.

After the event we moved into the main bar where the bar manager took the time to gain valuable feedback from those involved and inform us that more events are in the pipeline with the next possibly being a visit from the mighty Midleton.

I know one thing is for sure, as Belfast grows, and moves forward, events like this are imperative to it's success.  When events like this take place, and more specifically whiskey events, it can only but improve consumer knowledge and bring many more into our already growing Belfast whiskey family.

Many thanks to Colum and The Merchant Hotel for an excellent evening.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

Celtic Cask - Ocht - Review

Hello there and let me begin by wishing you all a very happy New Year.  A touch late I know but I better late than never.  In honesty though, I've been a little absent over the last month as I took the festive period to truly unwind and spend quality time with friends and family, as I hope did all of you.

Not to worry though, with all that relaxation I had plenty of time to enjoy a lot of all things whisky and have plenty to be writing about as we move swiftly through the first month of 2015.  Furthermore I fully intend to crank this whole blog up a notch or two and look forward to expanding and pushing myself on to bigger things.

For now though I'll jump straight in with something new and Irish.

Roughly this time last year I typed out a review highlighting a latest release from The Celtic Whiskey Shop, which is based in Dublin City Centre.  That review looked at a bottling from their very exciting "Celtic Cask" range - the Celtic Cask Sé.

To recap the Celtic Cask Sé was a 22 year old, single malt whiskey that was born in September 1991 and bottled in November 2013.  It was double distilled and came from from an unnamed distillery that normally practices triple distillation.  The cask, number 1916, came to the company courtesy of the increasingly awesome Teeling Whiskey Company and was finished, for about 4 months, in one of their Anima Negra wine casks.  It was bottled at 46% ABV and another interesting note was that the initial spirit had been distilled from crystal malt, which is more commonly used in brewing to add colour and body to ales.

Back then I suggested that the spirit itself came from Bushmills but now I'm completely certain.  

Fast forward a year or so and here we have their brand new Celtic Cask Ocht.  The Celtic Cask Ocht, at 23 years of age, is quite simply the same whiskey as Celtic Cask Sé but with a year or so longer in the fantastic Anima Negra cask.

Further information provided, for the anoraks amongst you, told us that the cask was 225 litres, made from French Alier oak and the wine, it held previously, was in the barrel for 20 months. 

When I received this sample I did wonder how much more influence the extra year was going to put into the whiskey and I looked forward to getting stuck in as I had really enjoyed the Celtic Cask Sé.

Without further ado here's my notes:

Nose - Deep red and black fruits, blackcurrant, strawberry and redcurrant.  There's a lovely buttered nuttiness running through this which is creamier than I recall in the Sé.  Ripe banana and Christmas spices.  Some menthol and a hint of peppermint.  Deep dark chocolate orange.  In the background you do get a slight sense of age with some dusty citrus lemon and orange coming through.

Palate - As with the Sé, this is a huge juicy arrival.  Tons of rich red fruits which are extra sweet with the malt.  Light clove spice and some red apple.  Dusty leather comes towards the end with rich orange.  Drying towards the very end with more creaminess throughout.

Finish - Lightly spiced red fruit that drys and lingers wonderfully.

Overall this is still a big red fruit beast of a dram!!  Fantastic berry flavours run throughout this whiskey as it has clearly taken to the cask extremely well.  The Ocht for me is every bit as good as the Sé and then some.  What I found surprising with the Ocht is that it displayed a layer of creaminess, that wasn't obviously apparent to myself in the Sé, and this has easily added an extra dimension to the whole experience.  

As with the Sé this is not a heavy sherried style whiskey but is beautifully light and fresh for 23 years of age.  The Bushmills spirit works wonderfully when treated with the respect it deserves........COME ON BUSHMILLS, SORT YOURSELVES OUT!!!

The Ocht comes in at roughly £170 compared to roughly £150 for the Sé and for me if you're willing to spend £150 you may as well throw in an extra £20!!  

Yet again the Celtic Whiskey Shop have pulled out all the stops to bring us high quality Irish whiskey that's been finished to high, high standard!!

Well there you have it, the first review of what promises to be a fantastic and exciting year.  I hope you all stick with me for the journey.

As always I've thrown in a few relevant links below for you to peruse at your leisure and if you fancy another look at my review of the Celtic Cask Sé you can do so by clicking right here.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

Celtic Whiskey Shop - http://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com

Celtic Whiskey Shop Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Celticwhiskeyshop

Celtic Whiskey Shop Twitter - https://twitter.com/Celticwhiskey

  

Bushmills - 12 year old "Distillery Reserve"

Hello my whisky friends,

Back again, as promised, with another quick review.  

The whisky, or should I say whiskey, that's made it to the blog for this update is the Bushmills 12 year old "Distillery Reserve", which I'm sure is a dram that few of you have had the chance to sample.  

Getting your hands, or lips, on this version of Bushmills is a privilege only available to those who make a visit to the world famous distillery on the beautiful north Antrim coast here on the island of Ireland.  A visit that I can wholeheartedly recommend.  

Bushmills Distillery, Co. Antrim

My trip to the distillery took place a couple of years ago and I found it to be a truly enjoyable experience.  Unfortunately I managed to mistime my visit and arrived when the stills were not in operation, due to annual cleaning, but this was happily overlooked with a fine tasting session that me and my girlfriend managed to be treated to.

For those of you who do not know, Bushmills distillery is usually known the world over as "The Oldest Distillery in the World".  Well this isn't exactly true.  It is true that a licence to distill was granted to the area back in 1608, and I've no doubt that whiskey was produced in this area from that time, but the actual distillery itself was not built until 1784.  As a side note Kilbeggan distillery, in Co. Westmeath, Ireland, can claim to be the oldest actual distillery in the world as it was founded in 1757.

Bushmills traditionally produce triple distilled malt and their core range includes Original Bushmills blend, Black Bush blend, Bushmills 10 year, Bushmills 16 year and Bushmills 21 year.  Incidentally the grain whiskey that makes up the Bushmills blends actually comes from Midleton distillery, the home of Jameson Irish whiskey.

As I mentioned this 12 year old is only available at their distillery and is a triple distilled, single malt that has been matured mainly in ex Spanish oloroso sherry casks before being bottled at 40% ABV.

Since my visit to Bushmills I have slowly but surely worked my way through the bottle and to be perfectly honest it has taken me a while to get to grips with it.  I have always enjoyed the Bushmills 16 year old, and the Bushmills 21 year old is heavenly, but this 12 year old had me puzzled for quite some time.

Maybe it was down to the fact that the 16 and 21 year old's each have gorgeous finishes, port and madeira respectively, or maybe it was something else.  While searching for answers I came up with the possibility that it could be simply down to an honest lack of experience of triple distilled single malts.  This was backed up with memories of the very few Auchentoshan's I've sampled where, again, I just didn't really get them.  Now, before the 'toshan fans start a full blown hate campaign against me, I'll hold my hands up and fully admit my experience of Auchentoshan is very, very limited so there's no way I'm writing it off, I just need to sit down and really get to know their spirit better.

Whatever it was though that held me back, I think I'm slowly working my way around it and as a result I'm now, finally, beginning to understand the Bushmills 12 year old.

Onto the whiskey itself:

Nose - Delicate…..extremely delicate. Honey, toffee apple, light floral notes, faint ripe banana, some fizzy orange, almost sherbet like, lemon candies, light grain, sweet malt and some dried fruit with gentle spice.  With water the citrus notes become even lighter to the point of nearly disappearing.

Palate - Sweet arrival backed up with some clove spice. The spirit is light in the mouth and shows off some more fruit with orange returning. There's some light oakiness and again the faintest hint of dried fruit.  With water the spices ease to highlight the light floral / fruity notes.

Finish - Short, sweet and slightly warming with a late arrival of red apple.

Overall, and I have to be honest, whilst I feel I'm understanding this whiskey better, than when I first tried it, I still feel Bushmills could do more.  In my opinion I feel this whiskey is crying out to be bottled at 46% ABV rather than the current 40% ABV.  A craft finish to this malt would really give it the oomph it needs to become a great purchase for visitors making the journey to the distillery.  At the moment I get the sense that Bushmills / Diageo are pumping it out as a standard presentation knowing everyone will buy it anyway and I suppose they're right, but surely it wouldn't hurt to put a little extra into the production and give all their fans the sense of nabbing a true reward for coming along and saying hello.

Aw well, at least I still have the 16 year old to fall back on.

And on that note I'll head off again.  I'll be back again soon though when I shall be getting round to a review I mentioned was on it's way a while back - the return of the "Dunville's Irish Whiskey" brand, and as promised I've some extra info from Echlinville Distillery who are behind the return of this long lost name.

Until next time,

Slainte.

SI

Celtic Cask - Sé - Review

On Wednesday past I was lucky enough to be involved in a very exclusive little "Tweet Tasting" which was kindly hosted by The Celtic Whiskey Club of Dublin, Ireland.  The online tasting was highlighting the launch of the latest addition to their Celtic Cask range - Celtic Cask Sé.

Last Saturday I posted a blog update to give you all some background regarding the story behind this whiskey along with some insight into the Celtic Whiskey Club itself and The Celtic Whiskey Shop which is also based in Dublin, Ireland.  In case you missed the post you can find it by simply clicking here.

As for the the whiskey I think it's only fair that I recap what Celtic Cask Sé actually is.  It's a 22 year old, single malt whiskey that was born in September 1991 and bottled in November 2013.  It has been double distilled and is from from an unnamed distillery that normally practices triple distillation.  The cask, number 1916, came to the company courtesy of the Teeling Whiskey Company and has been finished, for about 4 months, in one of their Anima Negra wine casks.  It has been bottled at 46% ABV and another interesting note is that the initial spirit was distilled from crystal malt, which is more commonly used in brewing to add colour and body to ales.  It is retailing for €195 and can only be bought at the Celtic Whiskey Shop either in store or online.

Now, during the last update I gave my opinion as to where, I felt, the whiskey had originated from.  Although the Celtic Whiskey Shop has stated that it is from an unnamed distillery they have given away some clues by stating that the distillery normally practices triple distillation and that crystal malt was used in the making of this whiskey.  These clues led me to believe that the whiskey was in fact from Bushmills, and now, after sampling the Bushmills 12yr and 16yr, either side of the Celtic Cask Sé I am in no doubt.  The similarities are there for all to see in style and taste.  The main differences are obviously the red wine finish and the fact that Celtic Cask Sé has been presented at 46%, with presumably no colour added and no chill filtration.  I also have an opinion on the double distillation as opposed to the triple but I shall leave that for my review of the Bushmills 12yr, which shall be coming up soon.

Onto the tasting notes for Celtic Cask Sé -

Nose - The first hit is that of undiluted blackcurrant juice such as Ribena, fresh banana, ripe oranges, light spices and a very light menthol note.  An underlying nuttiness runs throughout and with time more tropical notes came through including fresh pineapple.  The red wine finish, whilst present, did not take away form the overall fruitiness of the spirit and the nose showcased this through great fruity complexity.  With water the experience became more citrus with more orange and now some lemon.  Beautifully, rich malt also made an appearance.

Palate -  JUICY, JUICY, JUICY!!!  Big red fruit arrival.  This is accompanied by sweet malt and warming spice in the form of clove.  Whilst the spice was warm it was not the slightest bit harsh.  Stewed apples and oranges with a touch more menthol.  Red fruit continues with more blackcurrant and maybe raspberry.  With water the spice is toned down and the red fruit is amplified.  I also noted a continued sweetness throughout the palate towards the finish.

Finish - Medium to long with clove spice and a lasting taste of more rich, juicy red fruit.

Overall - This is without doubt one of the most fruit laden whiskies I have ever had the pleasure of sampling.  Not as heavy as a sherried malt but fresher and juicier.  At €195 you will certainly have to save up a few pennies to get your hands on this whiskey but I'll put it in another light which might influence your decision.

For me this whiskey is not a million miles away from the Bushmills 21yr which can retail anywhere between £120 - £140, depending where you shop.  Translated this is roughly €145 - €170.  When you consider that the Bushmills 21yr is bottled at 40% and chill filtered with maybe some caramel added I think I'd rather spend that little bit extra and snap up a bottle of the Celtic Cask Sé which has been presented in a far better light and is also a 22yr old single cask.

Fantastic stuff.

Well that's all for this update.  Like I said I shall be back soon with not only a review of the Bushmills 12yr but also an insight into an aspect of the Belfast whiskey scene, namely the retailers.

Lastly I would like to, once again, thank the Celtic Whiskey Club for the sample and also for hosting the tweet tasting.  Hopefully there will be many more highlights throughout the year.

Until next time,

Slainte.

SI