Nose: Harmonious - rich, sweet and woody. Very fruity - bananas foster and french toast. Cinnamon, caramelised brown sugar and vanilla ice cream. Now the tropical fruit notes of pineapple, mangos and fresh apricots. A definite cherry note too with a hint of eucalyptus. Dark chocolate with dried fruit and orange zest. Water brings out a little more nuttiness - crushed walnuts with marzipan making an appearance too. There’s nothing offensive about the Original, yet there’s also nothing exciting to be excited about. It’s a light, easy-to-drink session whisky. The sherry influence is not too noticeable, but I think it also makes sure this blend doesn’t end up being flat or has a sudden drop off of flavor. Something as light as this makes me think it’ll be good as a Japanese highball. Finish: A long, warming finish that is equal parts sweet and herbal. Vanilla, tropical fruit and pine cones. Water makes the whiskey a bit more “cereal-forward” with some porridge notes and Nilla wafers taking center stage. Lovely either way, but I prefer it neat.

Finish: The intricate marriage of smooth triple distilled spirit with PX sherry cask complexity results in layers of flavour, and a long and lingering finish Bushmills Sherry Cask Reserve is pure single malt whisky, not a blend like the cheaper Bushmills. While it is a no-age-statement (NAS) whisky, it is matured exclusively in Oloroso sherry butts. That certainly sounds at least minimally promising – although it is disappointingly bottled at the minimum strength of 40% ABV. Added to the review now is the La Maison Du Whisky 1992 Cognac Cask finish 28 year old. Distilled 09/04/1992 and matured in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks for 11 years this was then recasked on 19/12/2003 for a further maturation of approximately 17 years in ex-cognac casks before bottling on 10/04/2020. This is at natural cask strength of 46.7%, non chill filtered and natural colour with an outturn of 500 bottles.

Every bottle of Bushmills carries the year 1608 on. This was the year that James I of England (James IV of Scotland) issued a licence to distil County Antrim in Ireland. Bushmills Distillery itself, however, wasn’t registered until 1784 by Hugh Anderson.

Sherry, dark fruit, nuts, toffee, char, spice, honey, cocoa and a bit of citrus and raisiny dark fruit. On the nose, it's apple. Baked apple, fresh apple, calvados. Some orange peel. I also get quite bit from the sherry cask: chocolate, ripened grapes, wood. I'm quite impressed so far.Continuing in my st-paddy's day's theme I went to my favorite liquor store and bought a bottle of 10 years old bushmills. I usually go for the 1608 original bush, but felt like going a bit older this time. In 1922, the Irish Free State was formed while six counties in the north including Antrim stayed as part of the United Kingdom. Despite now being in a different state, Bushmills has remained close to the rest of the country’s whiskey industry which went into serious decline after independence. At one point there were only two distilleries left on the island, Bushmills and Midleton in Cork, and they were both part of the same group Irish Distillers. In 2005, having been part of Irish Distillers since 1972, parent company Pernod Ricard sold Bushmills to Diageo. The brand had been stagnant and the new owners set a goal to reach 1 million cases by the end of 2012 and invested around €45 million in the distillery itself as well as the brand. Diageo increased the production rate to five days a week and since 2008, they have implemented a seven-day week. This tripled production in just 2.5 years. Then in 2014, the distillery was bought by Tequila giant Casa Cuervo which has carried on building the brand. Nothing in the Terms shall exclude or limit our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or for death or personal injury resulting from gross negligence or willful misconduct by us.

A few of the more interesting things I learned about Bushmills: the name comes from the River Bush. They also use 100% Irish Malted Barley. Their barrel entry proof is 85%, which is something I’m not too fond of, as the spirit can over-extract the cask’s flavors. Palate: Vibrant even after 28 years. Sweet malt then all the tropical notes from the nose with some banana thrown in for good measure. Stem ginger syrup, pink peppercorns and cardamom. Vanilla syrup infused mocha. The beeswax again makes an appearance. These expressions also just highlight to me how well Bushmills spirit goes with fortified wine casks. Bushmills solely done in bourbon casks even at cask strength never really got my juices flowing but show them some sherry, madeira, port or malaga wine and it bursts into life.In the mouth: Oddly, I get the chocolate and toffee notes at the front. I feel like the top of it is drizzled with guava powder and lemon peels. The sweet corn pudding reappears with grape-heavy fruit parfait. Score: 4/10 We are committed to maintaining our iconic taste and quality as we continue to bring our signature smooth Bushmills Irish Whiskey to new and existing consumers around the world.” Nose: Big, bold aromas of rich fruitcake and the intense sherry sweetness characteristic of Pedro Ximénez casks Each and every Member must be of legal drinking age in its country of residence to be allowed to use the Service. If no such law exists in a Member’s country of residence, the Member has to be over 21 years old to use the Service. We have the right to ask you to provide proof of your age and/or to provide further identification to prevent underage usage and/or for any other legal or legitimate purpose. By using the Service, and by creating an account you represent, warrant and confirm that you are of legal age. In the mouth: There’s a welcoming tart taste which I can’t pinpoint. It tastes like a light mix of honey and Sauternes. After this is a very, very light tingle of sulfur. Then there are subtle tastes of guava, peppermint and honeydew melon. Even more subtle tastes of lanzones come out. Score: 3/10 Conclusions: