Bushmills acclaimed by global whiskey expert

Old Bushmills Whiskey in Northern Ireland has won two major awards in the influential Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible, an annual publication on developments in global whiskey distilling.

Bushmills, which is based in county Antrim and has been distilling whiskey for over 400 years and claims to be the world’s oldest distillery of the spirit, is the only Northern Ireland producer listed in the book. Whiskey has been distilled there since 1608.

The Northern Ireland distillery was chosen by Murray, an acknowledged expert on the brown spirit, as Irish Single Malt of the Year 2021 and Irish Blend of the Year 2021.

The Irish single malt winner is Bushmills Port Cask Reserve. The whiskey is drawn from Port casks and bottled as part of the distillery’s Steamship Collection. It was originally released for the Travel Retail Market. It is a supreme triple-distilled whiskey aged in Oloroso sherry casks.

The name is inspired by the SS Bushmills, and was launched to coincide with the 125th anniversary of said steamship's maiden voyage from Ireland to North America with a cargo that included the whiskey.

Murray’s choice as Irish Blend of the Year 2021 is Bushmills Black Bush, an Irish whiskey that combines what the company describes as “an exceptionally high amount of malt married with a sweet, small-batch grain whiskey, and then matured in former Oloroso sherry and bourbon casks.

“A unique recipe means Black Bush has rich, fruity notes and a deep intense character, balanced by an incredibly unique smoothness,” according to the company, now Northern Ireland’s biggest exporter of whiskey and also a major destination for tourists.

Whisky writer Jim Murray publishes a new version of his renowned Whisky Bible every autumn. The book is a compilation of his tasting notes and scores for thousands of whiskies – 4,500 in 2021 – with usually more than 1,000 new and updated notes added each year, and older and out of date products culled as necessary.

This year, the theme is new releases, new distilleries and letting the past be the past:

“But the one thing that tasting 1,250 whiskies a year for this book has reinforced in my mind, is that for people to really enjoy whisky of whatever type, then they have to let go of the past and learn to swim,” Murray says.