March 17 is St Patricks Day. To cellebrate I thought it might be fun to do an Irish single malt – Bushmills 10 year old. We have never done one before. They are very different to Scottish single malts due to the triple distilling process.
Barley is malted, ground and brewed in a big tank. At this stage making whisky and beer is the exactly the same. The difference is there is no hops in the whisky.
The beer is distilled for the first time, taking the alcohol from about 5% to about 20%. It is then distilled again to about 70%. The Irish use a third distillation process, purifying the it further to 85%. It is then aged for 10 years in Bourbon barrels to produce a lovely smooth rich elegant whiskey with vanilla and honey notes.
The Bushmills 10 year old was voted by the New York times as the best Irish whiskey out pointing the more popular and more marketed Irish blends. I guess this just proves what we all know. The best blend ‘aint as good a single malt.
DISTILLERS NOTES
Bottle Size : 700ml
ABV : 46% abv
Region : Ireland
Peated : No
Nose: A sweet spicy aroma, reminiscent of apple pie, with overtones of oloroso sherry, vanilla, honey and perfumy oily notes. Very characterful and complex.
Colour: Deep amber.
Taste: The rich malty flavour is clearly discerned, a smoothness due to triple distillation and the traditional absence of smokey character.
Finish: It has a long, slightly dry finish with toffee and a hint of chocolate-vanilla. Enjoy neat or with just a drop of water.
