Bushmills Irish Whiskey Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Bushmills Original

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: NAS

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Young Grain, Alcohol, Vanilla, Grassy tones and Green Oak are the first impressions. After a while I get Brown Sugar, Citrus, Toffee, Apples and Pears and Toast with Butter and Peach Marmalade. Instead of Butter you can think of Whole Whipped Cream as well. Hints of Malt and Honey. There is a slight Metallic feeling to the Nose as well that I could do without. It's not strong enough though to consider it a serious off-note.

Taste: A tiny bit harsh with Sweet Grains, Oak, Vanilla, Licorice, Cardamom, Nuts, Pepper, Caramel, Citrus and some Floral Notes.

Finish: Short and quite Sugary with tones of Pepper, Oak, Grains, Green Apples, Cardamom and Vanilla. It is saved by a last minute Peach Note. It leaves your mouth quite dry after a minute or two.

I added a few drops of Water but won't do that again. It somehow becomes a muddy river of Grains and Spices with a Metallic Finish. My firm advice therefore is to enjoy this dram neat.

Rating: 78.5 

Nose:  20.5 - Taste: 19.5 - Finish:  19 - Overall: 19.5

General Remarks:  The Old Bushmills Distillery is located in the Antrim County in Northern Ireland. Since 2005 it's owned by the Diageo Group. In 1608 a licence to distill was granted by King James I which makes Bushmills the oldest licensed Distillery. That's why the year 1608 is printed on the label. The Distillery produces a whole range of Bushmills expressions including the Original or White Label as it's often referred to, the Black Bush, the 10, 12, 16 and 21 Years Single Malts and the Special Edition 1608, released in 2008 to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of Legal Distilling at Bushmills.The Original is a Blend of Malt and Grain Whiskies, is Triple-Distilled and is matured in American Oak Casks. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay

Conclusion: Too much young Grain, Alcohol, Metal and Cardamom around to really enjoy this dram neat. Despite the fact that you can pick up some nice Peach and Whipped Cream on the Nose with the Peach returning in the Finish. The whisky leaves you with a quite dry and slightly uncomfortable mouth-feeling after a couple of minutes. This is probably more suited as a basis for Long-Drinks although I'm not really an expert in that field. I conclude that the Bushmills Original is not a bad whiskey but not a bottle I would care to buy on a regular basis.

Jan van den Ende                                                              October 19, 2012