The Bushmills 10 years Irish Single Malt is where Bushmills goes from good to exciting. Matured almost exclusively in ex-bourbon casks this is a single malt that is on par with many of its Scottish cousins. The triple distillation and lower proof does make it a bit lighter than many comparable Scottish Single Malts, but it packs a punch of flavor and warm inviting aromas that can go toe-to-toe with many in a similar age range.
Bushmills 10 is one of my favorite Irish sipping whiskies. It’s just insanely pleasant to sip on and something I can enjoy all day long. It also happens to be the favorite of Bushmills master distiller Colum Egan and that’s a man who has access to more Bushmills than any person on the planet. So if it’s good enough as a daily tipple for him it’s good enough for me!
Bushmills 10 years Irish Single Malt Review
Distiller: Bushmills
Age: 10 years
ABV: 40%
Price: $40
EYE
Burned gold
NOSE
Complex orchard fruit floods the nasal passages along with malt, vanilla, dried strawberries, honey and a touch of copper. Some light notes of citrus float lightly in the background with some floral hints.
PALATE
Complex fruit again leads the charge with notes of malt, vanilla, honey, a light spice and a light sherry like sweetness. A touch of walnut shells and citrus spring up towards the end before the finish.
FINISH
Short and malty with notes of vanilla, honey, salt water taffy and wood. Though not like the oakiness in bourbon, more like a toothpick that you’ve chewed on for a while.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Good balance, a medium body and warm smooth texture.
OVERALL
Bushmills 10 is where Bushmills really starts getting good and that triple distilled Irish single malt gets a chance to shine. From the complex and aromatic nose to the warm fruity palate it’s wonderful whiskey and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s quality drams like this that make me wonder why so many folks have such a bias against Irish Whiskey. Sure some of the blends are crap, but so are some Scottish blends. The single malts and single post sills though, those can be very nice indeed.
SCORE: 86/100
Bushmills 10 years Review 40
Bushmills 10 Value
Bushmills 10 years Irish Single Malt is good stuff, just… good… stuff.
Overall
- Nose - 86
- Palate - 86
- Finish - 86
- Balance, Body & Feel - 86
User Review
( votes)( review)
A great whiskey. Underrated by most. Sip some by a crackling fire on St. Patrick’s Day (as I am right now) and you’ll agree!
Cheers John!
Irish whiskey is good. And more expensive than Scotch (along the lines of quality). So the “crap” Irish blends tend to cost like the decent Scotch blends. That is my observation and my theory on why Irish whiskey can have a bad reputation. You can get a 1.75 L bottle of Grand Macnish or possibly Ballantine’s, Grant’s, White Horse, Teacher’s, etc. for either same or marginally higher price than a 750ml bottle of a bottom-shelf Irish bland, er.. blend ;)
What you say makes sense :)
Just alright
I had high hopes for this one and I hope it gets better as I work my way through the bottle. For right now, it’s just okay. I got a lot more Sherry notes out of this one than you did, so I wonder if in the last few years they’ve upped the percentage of Sherried Casks they’re using. I prefer the Black Bush to this one.
Interesting. I know Bushmills is putting a lot more effort into their Single Malt releases and making it a key selling point for them so they definitely could be. Thanks for sharing, cheers!
my buddy provoked me this morning with a video message of him drinking a black Bush straight from the bottle, I never tried the black bush, so I hit Bevmo to get a black Bush to answer to the fu**er :) here I am watching the $39.99 black bush tag, and next to it this cute green box with a single malt 10 aged and just $5 more, automatically without even thinking about it grabbed it, filmed myself drinking off the bottle and send it to my friend, at this point the flavour and rich aroma hit my senses, OMG!!! this is the best Irish Whiskey I’ve ever had!!!! I think this is my new favorite and will be always in my bar!!!!
Nice, it’s a good whiskey for sure. Cheers!
I concur. An excellent dram. There is nothing displeasing about this whiskey – except that I can’t buy it buy the gallon.
hahaha, sounds like we’re in a similar boat!