Bushmills 16 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey (700ml)

This ever popular bottling from the world's oldest licensed distillery (est.1608) delivers a triple-wood attack: x-Bourbon barrels (which typically lend vanilla notes to the whiskey), Spanish Oloroso Sherry casks (contributing rich fruit and nuts), then finally, it's transferred to old port casks for the last months of its maturation. These casks bring sweet berry notes and a hint of ruby red to the final whiskey.

Other reviews... This unique whiskey has lots of the hallmarks of Irish — a nutty almond backbone, hints of banana and coconut, and an earthy, honeyed finish. But there’s much more going on here, too, that adds ample complexity. The sherry is big on the front, offering more than just the usual orange oil and orange peel notes you get with sherried Scotch but also deep, oxidized sherry character, something that must come from many years in a sherry barrel rather than a simple finish. I don’t get a whole lot of Port here (it spends just 6 to 9 months in that final barrel), though the deep burnt amber color is a clear indicator of its impact. Hints of dark chocolate-covered-cherries on the finish are the only real remnants of the Port, with a surprising amount of roasted barley notes overwhelming the picture in the end. Tons going on here, and for the most part they all work well together. - drinkhacker.com

The most northerly of Northern Ireland’s distilleries, Bushmills ages this spirit in bourbon and oloroso casks before finishing in port wine casks. The sweet notes of fat, ripe blueberries, plum flesh, and dusty, dry warehouses sketch out the nose. It lands on the tongue dry but piquant, then the fruit swarms all over it; blueberry, black currant, and apple, with hazelnut, chocolate pralines, black pepper, and spice. This was once the pick of the range, but the port influence seems feistier than older bottlings and I miss how smooth this used to taste.
86 points - whiskyadvocate.com, reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Fall 2015)

... Nose: Big, fat and sweet. Butter and raisins. Forms slowly with pineapple, stewed fruits, malted milk, coconut, cereal, cocoa, orange. Big (but balanced) oak. Palate: Round and rich. Sweet dried fruits, brazil nut, coffee, soft malt, popcorn. Good grip. Oak in balance. Finish: Long. Hazelnut. Comment: Plenty of oak but the spirit holds its own. An extra dimension to the 10 Year Old.  80 points - David Broom, whiskymag.com

...Nose: a touch of sulphur detracts somewhat from the fresh fruit delivery. Still get pomegranates, though! Taste: seismic waves of spicy fruit, juicy and salivating in effect; Finish: that haunting of poor sherry just takes the edge off the fun... 88 points
- Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2006

"The fragrance on the nose is quite intense with dried fruit and nuts due to the wine finishes on most of the whiskey. Oatmeal raisin cookies, nuts, a dose of dark chocolate, these are all presented on a silver platter. There is an amiable amount of char smoke throughout the dram." 82 points - distiller.com