Bushmills 21 year old

Type: Single malt whiskey

Origin: Ireland 

ABV: 40% 

Malt Mileage rating: 

Reaction: 😀

Bushmills 21 year old is aged for 19 years in sherry and bourbon casks, and then “finished” for two years in Madeira casks. 

Nose: The glass of Bushmills 21 year old sits an arms length away, but even at this distance I can smell its aromas – notes of honey, nougat, burnt nut praline and toffee diffuse from the glass and seem to fill the room. It smells like some kind of chocolate shop in here. Bringing the glass to my nose, I get more fruit cake, almond nougat, vanilla fudge, whiffs of old furniture and lots of wood.  

Taste: Old oak, spices, plenty of cinnamon and wood smoke sit over burnt caramel nut praline, and soft notes of port, liqueur chocolates, raisins, sticky dessert wine and mild herbal notes. 

Finish: Citrus peel, barley, sweet apple and sour worms. 

Overall: Spicy, nutty, complex, nuanced, mildly sweet and supremely drinkable.

My Dad polished off nearly the whole bottle of my Bushmills 21 year old over the course of a few months which was astonishing because, before his love affair with this Irish single malt, he “didn’t like whiskey”…