Bushmills 10 Year Old
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Whiskey
4 1285
Review by @OdysseusUnbound
- Nose21
- Taste22
- Finish21
- Balance21
- Overall85
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The light music of whiskey falling into a glass; an agreeable interlude.
I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Bushmills since James Joyce mentions it by name in Ulysses. I’m a fan of everything Joyce wrote, so my scoring may not be purely objective.
I purchased this whiskey on sale for about $42 CAD and sipped most of it up at our “cottage” on the French River.
Tasting Notes
- Nose (undiluted): honeycrisp apples, cloves, cinnamon, an aroma reminiscent of sewing machine oil (it’s pleasant, I promise)
- Palate (undiluted): light arrival, floral, honey, milk chocolate, a touch of salted butter, more apples
- Finish: medium length, some oak, cinnamon, a hint of cardamom, apple skins, biscuits (scones?)
Water makes the whiskey a bit more “cereal-forward” with some porridge notes and Nilla wafers taking center stage. Lovely either way, but I prefer it neat.
I’d love to taste an older Bushmills, say the 16 or the 21 year. The 10 year displays all the traditional characteristics of triple distilled Irish single malt, which isn’t surprising since Bushmills is pretty much synonymous with Irish single malt. It doesn’t seem to suffer for being bottled at 40% abv. I would obviously love to try it at 46% or even at Cask Strength, but I would not hesitate to re-purchase this bottle. It’s good enough to sip “thoughtfully” and yet light enough to share and drink “socially”.
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@OdysseusUnbound - Nice review. I'll have to grab one of these at some point.