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Bushmills 21 years

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4.3
(2)€183Ireland, Single Malt

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Taste mentions

Facts

Bushmills sits by the River Bush in County Antrim, where triple distillation has shaped Irish whisky for centuries. The 21-year expression spends most of its life in sherry and bourbon wood, then changes course entirely. For two final years it rests in Madeira casks. Those Portuguese fortified wine barrels push the spirit toward ripe peach and tropical fruit. You catch malty depth beneath, with a flicker of something sharper, almost medicinal, on the long finish. Each bottle is individually numbered because production stays deliberately small. Pour it neat and give it time. The layers unfold slowly.

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About the distillery

Distillery

Bushmills

Bushmills is a well-known Irish whiskey distillery located in the village of Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The distillery was founded in 1608, making it one of the older licensed distilleries in the world. The whiskey produced by Bushmills is triple-distilled, which gives it a smooth and mellow flavor. The distillery uses local water from the River Bush, which is known for its purity and distinctive taste. Bushmills offers a range of whiskeys, including the classic Bushmills Original, which is aged for at least 3 years in oak casks. They also produce the Bushmills Black Bush, which is aged in sherry casks for added complexity and richness.

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33Whiskies on Distilld

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About the Bushmills 21 years

Bushmills 21 years is a triple-wood Irish single malt whisky from County Antrim. Bushmills crafts each bottle in limited numbers on Ireland's north coast, where the distillery has held a licence since 1608. The spirit matures for at least nineteen years in Oloroso sherry butts and bourbon barrels. It then moves to Madeira casks for a final two-year finish. That unusually long finish draws ripe fresh fruit, peach, and mango into the glass. Enjoy Bushmills 21 years neat and let the layers unfold slowly. The River Bush flows past stone warehouses at the world's oldest licensed whisky distillery. Triple distillation in copper pot stills gives Bushmills its famously gentle character before wood ever enters the picture. For this aged release, the team marries several cask runs rather than bottling a single barrel. Sherry wood adds dried raisin depth. Bourbon barrels contribute vanilla and toasted oak. Only then does the Madeira finishing cask layer on its fortified wine sweetness. Honey and hazelnut greet you first, followed by summer fresh fruit and a faint malty warmth. Dark chocolate and toffee lead the palate, then slide into vanilla and toasted nuts. Peach and mango notes arrive from the Madeira cask, bright against the older sherry influence. A touch of medicinal spice flickers at the edges, kept in check by that soft triple-distilled base. The finish runs long and delicate, more dried fruit than fire. Master Distiller Colum Egan calls this expression a true icon of Irish whisky, and the cask programme backs him up. Nineteen years in sherry and bourbon is already a serious investment of time. Bushmills then commits another two full years to Madeira, longer than most distilleries ever finish a whisky. Each numbered bottle reflects that restraint. Production stays small by design. This is whisky built for slow sipping on its own terms. The forty percent bottling strength keeps the fruit and malt readable without drowning subtlety. A faint coastal salt note sometimes traces back to the distillery's Antrim setting. Bushmills 21 years rewards patience in the glass. Pour a measure neat and let it breathe for a minute. The fortified wine finish keeps revealing new corners.