Bushmills Sherry Cask Reserve - Steamship Collection Single Malt Whiskey

Product Information

Nose (undiluted): honeycrisp apples, cloves, cinnamon, an aroma reminiscent of sewing machine oil (it’s pleasant, I promise)

Prior to the release of the Causeway Collection (of which the two reviewed here are Irish exclusives) you had to get cask strength Bushmills from the likes of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and generally they would have been bourbon cask only. Or you had to be fortunate enough to attend one of Seamus Lowry's Bushmills tastings where you might have got to taste cask strength components of the 21 year old core expression. Taste: Soft and silky mouthfeel with a distinctive toasted nut character, hints of allspice and a punch of ripe peaches I like it. It's an easy whiskey, easy to drink, easy to taste. It has the softness of a kiss of Ireland. 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. Our Service is an online platform which provides Members with information (e.g. bottle facts, market-indices, market values and prices) on (mostly) whisky and allows Members to add information to the platform. We do not sell, nor does the Service provide any option to buy, any alcoholic products.Whiskybase B.V. is the Dutch private limited liability company, having its statutory seat in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and its office at Zwaanshals 530, 3035 KS Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Whiskybase B.V. is registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under no. 52072819.

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. The Service has been prepared by us solely for information purposes to Members and the Service is based on information we consider reliable and we obtain the contents of the Service from a number of different third party sources (including Contributions), but we do not endorse, support, represent, warrant or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of the Services and any information therein. On the palate, the initial hit is quite balanced: neither too sweet, nor too dry. But then, it starts to develop. You get the sweetness of malt and corn, that turns into something like milk chocolate, then strawberry, then classic malt. Finally we get the wood notes of spices and a touch of corn and flowers. Taste: The pear and grape really break away from the crowd here, with the pear having the most to say, before the honey diplomatically interrupts and allows some green peppercorn and chocolate nougat to come into the picture, adding some very lusciously soft depth to the palate. 2.0 In the mouth: Just as peppery as on the nose. But the sherry notes here are more bitter than the sweet tastes the sherry bomb lovers are more used to. I get subtle but slightly lengthy tastes of cherry-flavored lollipops, dried dates, dried figs, blood orange, goji berry, prunes, and raisins. In-between those are just as subtle but only flashes of apples, lemon peel, guava, pears, and star fruit. Score: 5/10All in the all, this is probably the first truly decent Bushmills that I’ve had. It would make a good introduction for someone interested in experiencing sherry finishing, without jumping right into a sherry-bomb. But I really think the casks used here have seen too many previous refills – they just seem a bit tired. And I can’t fathom why they bottled this at such a low 40% ABV. There's also a bitterness that comes in the after taste: like lime zest and apple peel. with a just a bit of metal. 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.