| Whiskey | Bushmills 16 Year Old |
| Distillery | Old Bushmills Distillery |
| Region | Bushmills, Ireland |
| Type | Irish Whiskey |
| Mash Bill | 100% Malted Barley |
| Proof / ABV | 80 Proof / 40% ABV |
| Aging | 16 Years in American Oak Ex-Bourbon Casks A Portion is the Finished in Oloroso Sherry Casks Then blended into Port Pipes for a final finish |
| Filtration | Chill Filtered |
| MSRP | $120 |
| Release Year | 2024 |
History of Old Bushmills Distillery
Old Bushmills Distillery is one of the oldest licensed distilleries in the world.
The Old Bushmills Distillery was officially established in 1784 and became famous for its smooth triple distilled style but official records date back to 1608 when King James I granted Sir Thomas Phillips a license to distill whiskey in County Antrim.
Bushmills 16 Year Old Tasting Notes
Appearance: Dark Golden Amber Honey
Nose: Sweet honey, maple, fruits, red fruit, cherry, raspberry, light citrus, apricot, apple, toasted oak, vanilla, hints of clove, anise seed, hazelnut, malt
Palate: Sweet honey, port notes, dark fruits, black cherry, plum, oak, citrus notes, light spice, hazelnut, almond, cinnamon, black pepper, earthy grain, malt, oaky tannic spice, baking spice
Finish: Smooth but rich finish – rich dark fruits, oak, and pepper spice forward with a lingering earthy malt note
Is Bushmills 16 Year Old an Approachable Whiskey?
Bushmills 16 Year is an extremely approachable whiskey.
It has a lot more flavor than your standard 12 Year Bushmills and is just as smooth.
Irish Whiskeys are some of the smoothest whiskeys you can find and this pour is no different.
Just about everyone is going to love this whiskey – from beginners to whiskey connoisseurs.
Is Bushmills 16 Year Old Complex?
Bushmills 16 Year has a lot of depth and complexity.
Bushmills always has a nice honey sweetness to it, but the 16 Year takes that a step further by adding the delicious fruits flavors of both a Sherry Finish as well as a Port Wine Finish.
To be honest, this is up there as one of my all-time favorite Irish Whiskeys alongside Red Spot and Blue Spot.
The nose is delightful with and hits you with honey and maple sweetness right off the bat.
Behind that you get a lovely layer of rich fruits ranging from apricot and apple then getting deeper notes of red cherry and raspberry that I immediately knew this bottle was finished in Port casks.
On the palate, I got slightly different flavors than on the nose which was interesting.
The flavors were more oak and spice forward and I tasted more dark fruits from the Sherry finish like dark cherry and plum.
The Port and Sherry finishes on this bottle shine through and round out all the flavors into a delightful pour.
The finish is smooth and full of rich oak spice, dark fruits, and a pepper spice on the tail end.
What are Bushmills 16 Year Old’s strongest attributes/flavors?
Bushmills 16 Year’s strongest attribute is how smooth it is to drink while still offering a nice oak profile jam-packed with rich fruit flavors.
It is a significant step up from the standard Bushmills 12 Year.
Is Bushmills 16 Year Old a go-to whiskey?
Bushmills 16 Year Old could absolutely be a go-to whiskey.
It’s full of flavor and extremely easy to drink.
Unfortunately for me, it is not available in my home state of Pennsylvania so I cannot find this bottle regularly.
My dad bought me this bottle while he was traveling in Maryland and I’m definitely glad that he did!
But if I could find this at home, I could drink this whiskey all day.
Is Bushmills 16 Year Old priced accurately to its quality?
This bottle of Bushmills 16 Year cost $120 which is quite expensive for an Irish Whiskey.
The good thing about this bottle is that I do think that it is worth the $120 price tag.
When I first reviewed the standard $30 Bushmills bottle, I thought it was a great budget whiskey.
I enjoyed the flavors and thought it was a great option for someone looking for a smooth whiskey for cheap.
This Bushmills 16 Year however is leaps and bounds above the 12 Year.
I’m actually quite shocked at how much rich flavor is in this bottle and even just during this review I have poured 2 additional pours than I usually do for reviews.
That, to me, is a sign of a great whiskey – one that you just want to keep pouring and tasting to get more and more flavors on each sip.
Conclusion for Bushmills 16 Year Old
Overall, Bushmills 16 Year Old is absolutely delicious.
It is one of my top choices for Irish Whiskey and you can’t go wrong here.
Also, it’s extremely cool to have such an excellent bottle from a distillery that has records all the way back to 1608 when Old Bushmills Distillery was granted the license to distil.
Each sip is 400+ years in the making and that is something that is cool to savor every time you take a taste of Bushmills Irish Whiskey.
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