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Bushmills Malt 21 Year Old Madeira Finish

A Pallet of Irish - Part IV of Whatever

8 1396

@talexanderReview by @talexander

15th Mar 2020

1

Bushmills Malt 21 Year Old Madeira Finish
  • Nose
    24
  • Taste
    25
  • Finish
    24
  • Balance
    23
  • Overall
    96

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

This is the most premium of Bushmills whiskies - aged for 19 years in oloroso sherry and bourbon casks, then finished for another two years in Madeira casks. I've tasted this a couple of times, I believe the first time was courtesy of @Victor, then again at an Irish pub somewhere - I've always loved it but never really spent time with it. Apparently no more than 900 cases are released each year. This one is the 2018 release, bottle no. 03573.

The colour is a medium gold. On the nose this is very nutty - almonds, walnuts and red peanut skins. Dark grapes (and dark raisins too....and dark chocolate). I'm positive there is a hint of peat smoke in the background (they do peat their malt sometimes). Black liquorice. A touch of mint. Leathery. Ground espresso. Maltier and more herbal with water. Stunning.

On the palate - unbelievable. It is constantly changing from rich to fruity to sherried to nutty and back again. Where do I begin.... Brazil nut, liquorice all-sorts, coffee cake, vanilla bean, black cherry and green banana. Buttery. Luscious mouthfeel. Water brings all the sweet malt upfront. One of the greatest palates - if not the greatest - in Irish whiskey.

The long finish is smoky with cinnamon, beef stock and black pepper. Quite simply one of the greatest whiskies you will ever try, IMHO. I've been using the word elegant a lot in these Irish whiskey reviews, and this continues that theme admirably. Winner of Irish Single Malt of the Year in Jim Murray's 2020 Whisky Bible (for once he's right).

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13 comments

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

I have yet to taste a Bushmills single malt I didn’t enjoy. This one sounds magnificent!! Thanks for the review.

4 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor commented

@talexander thanks for your review. Not much you can say about a whiskey this good, except that, at 40% ABV it is very easy to drink through a bottle.

@OdysseusUnbound you can nose Bushmills 21 yo for an hour. It has been Jim Murray's Irish Single Malt of the Year multiple years in a row, for good reason.

4 years ago 3Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@Victor Nosing might be my favourite part of the “whisk(e)y” experience. Smells are so intense and trigger so many emotional/spiritual reactions.........

4 years ago 2Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@talexander Wow, this one just went to the top of my Irish wishlist. I'm really enjoying this little Irish rundown you're doing. Very educational.

4 years ago 1Who liked this?

@talexander
talexander commented

@BlueNote I think I've got about three more to go...

4 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor commented

@BlueNote Bushmills 21 yo doesn't come cheap, and it is not so very easy to find many places. We had it at way below market prices here up until about 5 years ago, then one day, Poof! they all disappeared and never came back. Somebody figured out that they were being sold 40% below world average price, which, in those days, was, for the bargain price, $ 82 plus 9% tax.

4 years ago 2Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@Victor Yes, I would expect it to be pretty spendy. Maybe it’s time to buy/drink less and buy/drink better?

4 years ago 1Who liked this?

@talexander
talexander commented

@BlueNote Depending on how things go in the next day or two, it might be "no buying anything / drink everything you have"!!

4 years ago 5Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor commented

@BlueNote the high end stuff will always be the hardest to replace.

@talexander fortunately we have some bottles on hand to which to turn.

4 years ago 1Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@talexander Yeah, the siege mentally is starting to kick in.

4 years ago 0

@CanadianNinja
CanadianNinja commented

@talexander.... Would you please stop writing reviews!?? You’re not doing my wallet any favors!!

.... ; )

4 years ago 2Who liked this?

@talexander
talexander commented

@CanadianNinja How do you think my wallet feels???

4 years ago 1Who liked this?

@CanadianNinja
CanadianNinja commented

@talexander I don’t even want to think about it! Haha!

4 years ago 1Who liked this?