Bushmills 18-year-old (D.2004, B.2023) Causeway Collection Spanish Brandy Cask / 54.3%/ 0.7l

The Causeway Collection debuted in the fall of 2020 from Bushmills Distillery.

Its creator was the company's master blender, Helen Mulholland, and currently her successor, Alex Thomas, oversees the selection. The series consists of whiskeys finished in bourbon, cognac and wine barrels (including fortified ones). The Causeway Collection is inspired by the Giant's Causeway, located near the distillery and consisting of over 40,000 basalt columns formed as a result of intensive volcanic and geological activity from 60 million years ago. The Bushmills presented here was distilled on September 20, 2004, originally aged in bourbon and Oloroso sherry barrels, and in January 2021 was placed in Spanish brandy barrels. The whiskey was bottled at cask strength (54.3% abv) and without chill filtration in autumn 2023.

Nose: sweet with a subtle spiciness, blackberries, forest berries, cherries, plums, hazelnuts, toffee, vanilla, cocoa, nutmeg, a pinch of pepper and oak.

Taste: fruity, lots of berries, dried figs and dates, orange peel, dark chocolate, honey, toffee, vanilla, sugared almonds, cinnamon, a touch of cloves and oak.

Finish: quite long, with notes of roasted nuts and almonds, honey, caramel, cinnamon, a touch of nutmeg and oak tannins.