Bushmills 21 Year Single Malt

Smooth decently proof without the intense burn

Rating: 20/23 Took a couple sips of this for St. Patrick's Day and was really impressed. I remembered liking this, but being a bit underwhelmed, particularly given all of the hype, and not finding it to be worth the money. At $180, it's still quite spendy, especially considering that it's only 40% ABV, but I'm actually quite impressed by it. It has a decadent apricot flavor and so much depth. This is a really refined dram. It has the nuance of something like A De Fussigny XO (18/23), but it has less burn and a little more balance. Based on that side by side, I'm thinking no lower than a 19, but a 20 is more likely. El Dorado 21 (21/23) is the other dram that immediately comes to mind when I taste this. All three of these are decadent and complex while only being 40% ABV. The El Dorado certainly has a very different profile than this does, but they're in the same range in terms of complexity and decadence. I was initially thinking that this would be below the El Dorado, but the depth as this develops and moves into the finish is outstanding. I'm now thinking that they're kind of neck and neck. I'd love to stock both of them since they're so different in terms of profile, but it is hard to argue for this seeing as it costs nearly twice what the El Dorado does. Yellow Spot (17/23) is more funky, rugged, and brash. It's less sophisticated than this is, but still great. I would take this over it, but not by miles. This might be kind of moving me back into the 20 range for this. This is so nearly the perfect Irish whiskey, but I think the main thing that holds it back is its low ABV of 40%. Going with 40% ABV might be perfect for some drams, but this one feels a bit limited. I think a large part the sort of muddled vibe I'm getting from this is a result of the low ABV. I kind of doubt that cask strength is the way to go for this dram, but something in 43-45% range would probably be better. I can even imagine a more bold 48% version of this. I'm going with a 20 right here. Funnily, I thought I'd given this a much lower rating previously because I had vague memories of disappointment, but it turns out that I gave it a 19 last time and that's pretty close to what I've landed on now. Lovely.

Bushmills never let's you down but overpriced

Super smooth.