Time for some more fruity Irish whisky from Bushmills. This bottling has been slumbered in a 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel since October 2001. Sweet, Fruity and Mellow profile.
Nose: As one might expect from this distillery, we start with a melange of fruits – apricots, peaches, orange peels, mangoes and pineapple. There are elements of ripeness and sharpness and elements of mustiness an age with these fruits – sweet and sour if you were. Behind the fruits is dusty spicing – cinnamon and anise. Sitting alongside, sugared pastries – flans and turnovers. Water adds some creamy custard, malt biscuits and a touch of leafy herbalness – mint in particular.
Taste: Bingo! It’s juicy fruit time. Mangoes, peaches, guavas, pineapples and bananas – all quite defined, but still a mixture of lively and musty. Bakery flavours transpose from the nose, part pasty, but also with some chocolate and brown sugars. Spicing is varied – white pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg – more favouring aromatic rather than prickly. The addition of water made for a lovely syrupy mouth feel and added both increased pepperiness as well as touches of lemon.
Finish: Medium, with tingly pepper and a compote of orchard, stone and tropical fruitiness.
I’ve always got time for a Bushmills fruit-bomb and this is no exception – defined, characterful and with enough sugariness that you do feel like you’re coming in from the cold outside to a host of fruit crumbles and pies. That said, some of the fruit, spice and cask elements start to feel a little mildewed in places, which, whilst adding some aged character, do not wholly balance with the overall bright and liveliness of wider assortment of fruits.