There’s plenty of backbone behind the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery, but it takes another level of expertise to carefully age an Irish whiskey across the decades, and the latest Bushmills release makes history in the Irish single malt category.
Dubbed “Secrets of the River Bush,” the 46-year-old Irish single malt is transformative in every way, carrying on the producer’s penchant for luxurious Irish whiskey, especially its attention to detail in aging whiskey in highly selective casks. The final product also toasts to the winding river on the company’s estate, as its water is a key component in Bushmills whiskey.
The venerable liquid, pulled from Oloroso sherry butts crafted by the Antonio Paez Lobato Cooperage, also pushes the envelope well beyond previous high-age statement releases, like the company’s Bushmills 33-Year featuring a port wine finish. Bushmills has made waves in recent years as the official whiskey of the Peaky Blinders, but this release takes on a rarefied air.
The covetable bottle (priced at an eye-popping $12,500 for just 300 examples globally), continues to break new ground for the long-running distillery, said Master Blender Alex Thomas. “For me this isn’t just a smooth, rare single malt whiskey, it is real history in the making,” she noted, adding that “for 46 years, we’ve patiently watched over this remarkable liquid and witnessed it transform into this rich, dark beauty.”
Those words are apt indeed, as plenty of dark fruits and warm oak greet the sipper on the nose, while cinnamon and nutmeg spice shine through on the palate. The whiskey’s finish is a lingering one, and the liquid is further billed as “an artful marriage of Bushmills’ most elusive single malt reserves,” which themselves date back to the late 1970s.
Immediately striking beyond the sequentially numbered hexagonal bottle (and the elegant, hand-finished walnut display case) is the intense, deep mahogany color and the luscious finish: A prize worth the wait (and the price tag, assuredly).
Patience is an art form when it comes to Bushmills whiskey, and the journey of the spirit touches many hands, stretching back years, Thomas noted. “This remarkable liquid just shows you what time can do. I reflect on the team who laid it to rest in our warehouses 46 years ago,” she said. “We couldn’t do what we do without those guys and their legacy is everything to this single malt.”
Accordingly, the whiskey has proven tough to find: It’s sold out through Bushmills, but select online sites appear to be offering up the limited-edition whiskey (for a price, of course). With each sip meant to be properly savored neat, the story of this elusive whiskey will (hopefully) stretch on for decades in a choice few whiskey collections.
