Bushmills Black Bush Irish Whiskey, 70cl

Product Information

A big and full fruitcake aroma, with sherry sweetness developing into raisin and Christmas cake notes. Jocularity aside, I've always found Irish whiskey acceptable if somewhat dull and predictable, like action movies or romantic comedies. The 20% grain whisky usually alarms me like 10% ethanol in gasoline for the car, but this one is aged for 7-8 years. The Old Bushmills Distillery is an alcohol (primarily Irish whiskey) distillery in Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, founded in 1784 and owned by Proximo Spirits. It has a huge depth that interweaves dried fruit flavours with spicy, aromatic maltiness and subtle nutty raisin notes,” says Bushmills.

First up was a bottle of Bushmill's Black Bush, the only Irish whiskey, and the only blend amongst a lot more serious-minded malts. I'm certainly not an expert, but it is by far my favourite Irish, closely followed by Copeland Merchants Quay and Slane all of which are blends and all of which are aged, at some point, in sherry(Oloroso) casks. Much more interesting than Grant’s Family Reserve and a few steps above in terms of complexity and flavor.

About 3 years ago I purchased a bottle of Black Bush after being acquainted with this fine whiskey at a local pub. I'm not normally a big fan of Irish whiskey, I prefer Scotch single malt, which, from an Irish man is probably sacrilege but this would be as close to a Scotch as you will get. I recently came across Black Bush in an airport and decided to give it a whirl against my benchmark. In 1860 a Belfast spirit merchant named Jame McColgan and Patrick Corrigan bought the distillery; in 1880 they formed a limited company.

In 1890, a steamship owned and operated by the distillery, SS Bushmills, made its maiden voyage across the Atlantic to deliver Bushmills whiskey to America.It starts strong with heavy notes of pepper, then mellows into classic Irish triple-distilled smoothness. My reasonsing was, "Meh, it's only blended Irish whiskey, and it doesn't hold a flame to single malt scotch whiskies, blah, blah, blah. The label follows the shape of the bottle but it’s flat at the bottom and rounded on the top, like a stained glass window in a church. S. Bushmills (funded, owned, and operated by the owners of the distillery) made its very first crossing of the Atlantic ocean to bring their whiskey to the United States, before continuing on a public relations cruise to Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. He obtained a license in 1608 for his distillery in Bushmills in Northern Ireland and started production.

When we think of whiskey and the United Kingdom, most of us immediately think of Scotland with its long and storied history with the spirit. Black Bush Irish whiskey combines an exceptionally high amount of malt married with a sweet, small-batch grain whiskey, and then matured in former Oloroso sherry and bourbon casks. On the palate it starts out some sherry notes and a little spice, then turns your mouth warm in a very pleasant way. In particular, its Black Bush Finest Blended Whiskey received double gold medals at the 2007 and 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competitions. While we have taken care in preparing this summary and believe it to be accurate, it is not a substitute for reading the product packaging and label prior to use.In The Sting, Robert Redford's character can be seen drinking Bushmills whiskey before the final con. The whiskey is a beautiful golden honey color, a little darker than a traditional scotch but still not quite to the level of an American bourbon. On the Facebook ‘Whisky Bloggers’ the idea of a Flash Mob arose to publish the very same tasting note on the same date.