Review: Bushmills Single Malt Irish Whiskey 10 Years Old
Review: Bushmills Single Malt Irish Whiskey 10 Years Old
Irish whiskey powerhouse Bushmills has offered a 10-year-old age-stated single malt for decades, but somehow, we’re just now getting around to reviewing it. A snazzy new package refresh in recent years helped bring this oversight to our attention, so without further ado.
This is the youngest and simplest of the Bushmills core range, showcasing a cask recipe from which all subsequently older expressions begin life before receiving extra years of aging and a unique finishing (Marsala for the 12-year, Port for the 16-year, and Madeira for the 21-year). Like the other core single malts, this one has been triple distilled from 100% malted barley and aged in a mix of sherry casks and bourbon-seasoned casks. It’s billed as the “gateway” to the Bushmills range and the “perfect summertime whiskey.” Let’s see if we agree.
Bushmills Single Malt Irish Whiskey 10 Years Old Review
The aroma is more than you usually get with a gateway Irish whiskey. It’s impressively rich and layered with balanced notes of honeyed malts, warm ginger snap cookies, and fresh, delicate spices — cardamom and clove initially, then star anise. As it opens, a silky fruit dimension offers up apple skins and dried orange peel. The palate is light bodied and a little more pedestrian on the flavor front with early notes of barley sugar and vanilla shortbread that don’t evolve much across the sip beyond a hint of lemon oil and white pepper. The finish is on the shorter side but still energetic with notes of nougatine and honey candies. As entry level Irish single malts go, this ranks up there with the best of them. The summertime suggestion seems apt, although best to keep this one off the rocks and in a refreshing cocktail instead.
80 proof.
B+ / $50 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Bushmills Single Malt Irish Whiskey 10 Years Old
USD50
