Made it at Bushmills

You might remember the Make it 2 Bushmills competition from earlier in the year. The two winners - friends Jonathan ‘Oros’ Oliff and Sean Tickner from South Africa - were invited to stay at Bushmills and taught the ins and outs of whiskey-making. At the end, they got to create their very own unique bottling straight from the casks in the warehouse (pics: cask samples, blending). They then took this back to South Africa for a big party. Nice prize, eh?

I was keen to hear what the guys came up with and Bushmills were kind enough to send on some details from Master Distiller, Colum Egan, himself:

Bushmills matured in new oak charred barrels for 20 years and married with whiskey aged in Cognac casks for over 19 years. An innovative Single Malt from my South African friends. The colour draws you to the bottle. Their special Single Malt arrives on the nose with a wonderful fragrant fresh fruitiness followed quickly by candy sweet vanilla. On the palate initial citrus and peach notes are quickly following by hints of butterscotch. The finish is velvet smooth with subtle caramelised sweetness.

I don't know of any new oak or cognac-matured components in the current Bushmills line-up so that sounds like a special sup indeed. Good age on it too. Alas, we won't be trying this one at the whiskey society. It looks like about 20 litres were produced and most of that has gone back to South Africa. A few bottles remain for display at the distillery.

Enjoy the party, lads!