| #239 Bushmills 1608 Anniversary Edition NAS Blended Irish | |||||||||||||||||||||
| This cost is what I found the likely shelf price for a 750ml bottle to be, based on an average of costs throughout the USA. Your price may differ significantly. This is not an advertisement of sale, this bottle is likely empty by now anyway Cost | $8500 |  | |||||||||||||||||||
| 88 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The whisky's score as weighed against the cost of a bottle. Adj. Score | 75 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Limited Avail. | Currently produced but limited availability | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ABV | 46% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Awards |  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tasting # 261: 400 years of Bushmills (14-MAY-2008) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Notes | Bushmills has released an  Anniversary Expression to mark 400 years since their 1608 charter to distill whisky and I review it as the first Irish of 2008. Wait... that can't be right...
Bloody heck, it is the first Irish of 2008.
Anyway, the 400 years doesn't apply directly to Bushmills the company, it refers to a grant to distill in the town of Bushmills. So congrats to the town, I suppose. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st Impression | Now THIS is a box. Seriously, it's a satin lined box with a book and slipcase and everything. Woot. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Smell | Very clean: light green malt, cloves, seems rather tight though. Ah, 46ABV, I didn't note that. So, water releases some of the flavors, but this is still very reserved, very low key. I get grains.. heavy, but not oats or barley (there's plenty of barley elsewhere) almost heather, but lacking the earthiness. Hrm. Mild gin scent. There's also a faint fruit sweetness. It's just so mild and laced with green and dry barley that I'm not pulling much out. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Taste | Very very clean, in fact. Super slippery on the tongue but not oily. The malt is very nice, light and tight. Prickly in the build, I think this is just about ready for some water. So, after water things get interesting. The prickle is still here in spirit, which makes the nose even more perplexing. The malt is now a beast: stretching and roaring at the top then slowly circling and resting again in the fade and finish. Exceptionally smooth, just with a massive flavor punch. There's a little wood up front, but none of that fruit flavor came out to play, instead I get candy bar: caramel and milk chocolate at the very tip top that hides in your sinuses while the malt beast rampages around. Exceptional. A bit more water is a bit too much. The malt dies and sours, the sweetness becomes murky and it becomes a pale shadow of its glory. Now I have to pour another glass to make up for it. Such sacrifice. High 80s, lacking only slightly in complexity. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tasting Score | 88 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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