Bushmills Port Cask Reserve Follows In Wake Of Sherry Cask Bottling

Bushmills Irish Whiskey, as part of a new lineup called the Steamship Collection, earlier this year released a non-age statement whiskey that had been exclusively matured in first-fill Oloroso sherry butts. It was a travel retail offering, and is now being joined in that venue by the new Bushmills Port Cask Reserve.

Bushmills Port Cask Reserve, according to the distillery, is the second in its Steamship Collection, a range of expressions inspired by the voyages of the SS Bushmills steamship. This ship at one time “delivered Bushmills Irish Whiskey to new corners of the world and with it established knowledge and relationships from some of the world’s finest wine and spirit producers.”

As for the whiskey itself, it is non-age statement like the sherry one. Here’s what Helen Mulholland, master blender of Bushmills, had to say about it:

We pride ourselves on understanding the different nuances that different barrels impart on our whiskey. Up to 80% of the character of whiskey comes from the cask, so I make it my mission to travel to Portugal to meet with the craftsmen and estate owners from Douro Valley.

As a region whose stony soil yields only low quantities of grapes which are of outstanding quality and perfect for making port, it is here where I personally select the best casks for Port Cask Reserve. After a seasoning period of at least three years they are emptied and shipped back to Bushmills to be filled with our whiskey – letting the residual flavours from the charred wood work their magic. The result is our trademark rich, complex and smooth triple-distilled single malt whiskey with subtle elegant notes of damson, black coffee and almonds.

Bushmills Port Cask Reserve has a price of £99, or about $125 USD, and it will become available at travel retail in November.