Bushmills 16 Year Single Malt

When it comes to Irish whiskey, people typically gush over the Redbreast line and the Spots. Conversely, this Bushmills 16 mostly flies under the radar--though both the Distiller score and community ratings would indicate otherwise. Let's see if this deserves a spot at the Irish big boy table. Nose: Strawberry and raspberry off the jump. Apple, pear, plum, and apricot develop after a few minutes. Jammy/syrupy sweetness. Honeydew and kiwi. Raisin too. The nutty notes I typically find in Bushmills are definitely present, but are overshadowed by the powerful fruit notes yielded by the port-sherry barrel combination. Vanilla and toffee. Floral notes. Strong ginger note with a hint of cinnamon and plenty of oak. Great nose. Palate: Apple (both green and red), pear, kiwi, and, apricot are strong here. Blackberry, fig, date, raisin, and plum assert themselves after a few minutes. Strawberry and cranberry. Walnut, cahshew and roasted chestnut. Vanilla and orange zest along with light milk chocolate and caramel notes. Honeydew. Oak. Virtually no heat--though I'd be surprised if there was at 40% ABV. Delicious palate. Finish: Walnut, cashew, and roasted chestnut return in a big way. The dark fruit is retained from the palate. Blackberry, raisin, date, fig, plum. Cinnamon, baking spice, and oak. There's plenty of flavor here, and shockingly-considering the low proof, it isn't a flash on the pan. Medium length, maybe a tad less; enjoyable regardless. The Olorosso and port casks play togehter beautifully with this whiskey. At every turn, one seems to compliment the other. At different points in time after pouring, one takes precedence, while the other does its job as a foil. The bourbon barrel, while not assertive in any way, plays its role as a backdrop for the lead actors. This is a fantastic whiskey. To date, I consider this the jewel of Bushmills (I'll have to get around to the 21 to say this definitively.) It succeeds where every lesser version of Bushmills fails. Except for one thing. 40% ABV. I don't think this is ever a good thing to have embroidered on your bottle's packaging--especially if it's meant to be a sipper. And this clearly is meant to be a sipper. In context, the finish is surprisingly powerful. When evaluated against the other whiskies I've had, it's unremarkable. Beef this one up to 43-48% (46% is a fair compromise) and it's a world-beater. 4.25. With a higher ABV, the sky's the limit for this one. The craftsmanship that went into this one is evident. I'm only so critical because for all the care they've put into the cask arrangement, a bump in ABV seems like a small concession to take this to the next level. But make no mistake, this whiskey deserves a seat at the Irish big boy table.

Nice and smooth start to finish