Official Bottling | 40% ABV
Score: 4/10
Some Promise.
TL;DR
Decent, but not as solid as previous releases
Bushmill’s Is Changing Not Necessarily For The Better
It’s amazing how our senses can revive vivid memories. Smell can remind you of certain life events. Your childhood, a memorable meal; holiday or indeed a person in your life. It’s the smell of a particular whiskey that brings back a memorable moment to me that I feel it’s worth sharing.
Each time I nose a Bushmills Black Bush, I am immediately brought back to the still house in Bushmills. It was a clear Sunday in November 2019; my wife and I went to the distillery for a tour while staying along the North coast of Ireland. While we entered the fermentation room, the tour guide informed us that the long fermentation time of Bushmills is what gives it the unique fruity characteristic that’s found in all expressions. Walking into the still house, we were met with such intense heat. And the smell. The tour guide was not wrong. Wow. Tropical fruits, citrus fruits…. all mashed together in a large baking tray and put into the oven. It felt like we were in said oven given the heat and being surrounded by such an incredible smell! This reminded me of a previous visit I’d had at the Bushmills distillery, where my olfactory senses were incredibly overwhelmed in a way I’d never imagined.
That first ever visit to Bushmills, was around 9 years prior to the still house experience I mentioned. It’s where smell, again, plays a huge part here. A memorable whisky moment for me was when the tour group entered one of their many, many cask warehouses. You’re then met with the smell. Oh my goodness. Something I just couldn’t describe accurately. At this stage in my life I wasn’t a whisky drinker at all. Whisky smelled like… well whisky. I was utterly astonished at the sensory overload that I was experiencing. The view was fantastic, as rack upon rack of casks disappeared in the low light. It’s an experience I’ve always mentioned to people if they are planning any whisky distillery trip.
However, this part of the tour was missing entirely from our most recent visit. I kept saying to my wife ‘wait until we enter the warehouse’. But the ‘warehouse’ we walked into was like a stage set built by a local production crew. You had two small racks of casks that created a small walkway, and in the middle of the walkway, on the floor, displayed 3 old barrels (one that contained bourbon, one for sherry and an old port pipe). This was really it. We weren’t shown the bottling room either because the view was completely obscured with marketing billboards due to ‘bloggers taking pictures of our upcoming releases and telling everyone before we broke the news’. I feel this might be more to do with other Irish whiskey bottlings produced here. This would be the ‘proper’ reasoning, that they were keen to keep ‘quiet’ about.
“Old Bushmills has the amazing ability to be all things to all men: a thoroughly modern distillery housed in a beautiful Victorian building; a boutique distillery that nevertheless produces global brands; and a working distillery that welcomes the public.”
These changes in the distillery experience just left me feeling a bit short changed if I’m honest. We were lucky on that day to see first-hand a spirit run in full flow, but any other day it would have been ‘here are the pot stills… moving on’. Bushmills also do not offer any ‘bottle your own’ experience when you visit the distillery shop, only that the 12-year-old distillery reserve is available (a sample of which you can enjoy with your tour ticket at the end of the experience at the distillery bar). That bottle is 40% ABV, so I don’t have the opportunity to sample and taste something that is cask strength or more appealing really.
I’ve been to the Teeling distillery in Dublin, and really enjoyed their tasting experience after the tour. You’re given more than 1 sample to try (I think I enjoyed 4!) and the ability to bottle your own from a selection of 2 cask strength barrels, in which the finish and ages do change once availability is gone. In comparison, Teeling offers much more and that’s what’s disappointing about the Bushmills tour.
I’ve mentioned the above due to changes I feel have impacted Bushmills Black Bush. When I taste the liquid now in their newer bottle label, I am no longer reminded of the very vivid experiences, but more about what could have been if they offered a better tour on their distillery grounds. The north coast of Ireland pulls in huge crowds of tourists every year and I dare say a lot of them visit Bushmills distillery while visiting this part of the world. The majority might not be whisky drinkers, and probably get a lot from this tour. But it could be so much better. Bushmills could offer a tiering of tours for the experience you wish to have. This is something Teeling offered, but more around the tasting experience at the end which I thought was a great idea.
So, onto the whisky itself. The Black Bush composition contains a high malt content. It is 80% malt that has been matured in Oloroso sherry casks, the other 20% is grain whiskey. It is also aged for between 8 and 10 years. It’s stated on the Bushmills site that it spends 8 years in Spanish Oloroso Sherry casks and sweet Bourbon barrels. I am pleased to have Archibald contribute his thoughts on Bushmills Black Bush, as well as his tasting notes on a bottle from the 1980’s. I do wonder how that’ll fair in comparison!
Review
80% malt, 20% grain whiskey, 40% ABV
Current Black Bush £25-£32 and often on special
Nose
A fruit bomb of a nose. Those stone fruits, plums, apricots, peaches with some pineapples are all present. It just brings me right back to those stills and the intense smell. Tiny bit of light floral element to it. It really is a sweet fruity nose. Sugar sweetness, I’m thinking of some nice brown sugar. Malty as well, not much grain element coming through and overall very welcoming.
Palate
A lot more of a bite and grain forward taste than what I remember from this. The mouthfeel is rather light, and it feels a bit thin too. Which isn’t a bad thing. This is an approachable and soft Irish whiskey. That fruity taste is there but not as prominent as I’d have thought or would have liked. A little sweetness, and a touch of orange citrus. Again, this translated into the palate a lot better on previous bottlings I’ve had. That grain, it’s almost bitter as it develops. Turning a little sour. Not that enjoyable and at all from what I remember. Wouldn’t dare add any water to this. I’d describe the finish as medium enough. Bitterness lingers for longer than I’d like with a hint of spice in there too.
The Dregs
This used to be my go-to for Irish whiskey, even as a blend. The nose and palate were always solid and delivered what I needed in a very fruit forward and light whiskey. It’s approachable and not overly hot. Easy sipping neat but can be fired into cocktails just as easily.
However there’s a sourness to this Bushmills that wasn’t there in previous bottlings. I find this note in a few Jura’s and it’s hard to pinpoint why. It tastes as if Bushmills upped the grain content in their blend composition. I could be wrong. Or maybe they’ve used Sherry casks that are just completely exhausted. I don’t know why, but it’s very disappointing. This whiskey used to always bring me back to my distillery visits and be so enjoyable. This bottle just soured that taste I know and love. From the first pour and throughout the bottle it has been more spirit driven with a lot less of that delicious fruit Bushmills is known for. It won’t be something I’ll restock once I finish this bottle, and that saddens me. I’d be interested to taste the PX cask version of Black Bush and see how that stands up. For now, I might just stick to the 10-year-old if I can get it at a reasonable price. I hear the Silkie whiskies from Sliabh Liag Distillers are tasty indeed. Maybe something as an alternative.
Score: 4/10
Archibald’s Notes
This is a piece I’ve been wanting to do for a while as it’s been nearly 6 years since I last reviewed Black Bush. It’s been a mainstay of my whiskey cupboard for years and I’ve always held it in high regard as a dram that punched above its weight at its price point. But I have felt that over recent years quality has been slipping and so I felt it time to revisit and share my opinion. Thankfully Hamish also wanted to review it, so here we are.
Even better is that I had a sample of a 1980’s bottle of Black Bush (although bottled at 43% so probably for the export markets) that I had purchased off Val from the Waterford Whiskey Society. Sadly, I didn’t have enough to share with Hamish, but I thought a bonus comparison note would be appreciated by the Dramface audience. First up though, the current version.
Nose
Straight away there is ripe banana, melon and fruit salad sweets. A light sprinkle of white pepper. There’s a buttery creaminess here alongside draff and malt biscuits. The sherry notes are mild but there is a hint of raisin and sweet cinnamon.
Palate
To describe this accurately I’d call it a cold ‘hot toddy’ – brown sugar, clove, lemon rind and warming alcohol are the immediate flavour hits. The banana and melon note from the nose are there too but then after a little pepper spice hit, there’s a tannic sourness that appears. The finish is short, remaining sour, bitter and rather uninspiring.
Score: 4/10
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Reliving the 1980s in style
Review
Black Bush Special Old Liqueur 1980’s, 43% ABV
Now only available via auction
Nose
This smells much more sherried and older too. More dark fruit notes than fresh fruit – sweet dates, fig rolls, California raisins, muscovado sugar, sawn oak and leather. Danish pastry with candied almonds and cinnamon.
Palate
This has a slighter thicker texture probably helped by the extra abv. A nice swell of caramel covered banana and some pineapple initially. Then we get dark baking fruit of dates and raisins with milk chocolate, some roast coffee beans, dried ginger and malt. The finish, although a little short, is of Cadburys caramel bars and toasted oak and baking spice.
The Dregs
Well how the mighty have fallen! And I take no great pleasure in stating this. Even back in 2016, I felt there was a tannic bitterness making a powerful and unwelcome presence felt in Black Bush and sadly it’s still there and very much to its detriment. It is still a drinkable dram, but not one that in its present form I can so wholeheartedly recommend, as I have done in the past, especially as its price creeps up and competition from other quarters come into play.
The 1980’s sample really highlighted how the quality has dropped. It really lived up to the kind of nostalgic experience I remember from drinking Black Bush, a blend that really did deliver beyond its price point giving a sense of decadence and luxury and that led it to being regarded as one of the best value whiskies on the market.
Before you go on to the ‘ah here we go with another the older whiskey was way better than the whiskey we get today trope’, I also had a sample of the Special Old Liqueur (1970s) which was the forerunner to Black Bush and sadly it tasted of soap. I can confirm that the old days were not always better than what we have now.
So, if you were looking for an Irish blend where would I point you too for a better experience than the current Black Bush? Powers Gold Label, especially the Distiller’s Cut, is great value. Jameson Black Barrel, Ha’penny Original, The Silkie or Dark Silkie, Hinch 5 year old, Copeland’s Merchants Quay or Writer’s Tears will all offer something interesting and at a similar price point.
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. HF
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