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Episode 16: Bushmills Black Bush and Connemara Peated Whiskey

I felt like trying Irish Whiskey tonight. My friend recently traveled to Ireland and that got me thinking. I picked two for review and ended up liking one and not so much the other!

Irish Whisky is known for it’s smoother character. That comes from the tradition most distilleries follow in Ireland of double or Triple Distilling their product. This generally removes more offensive compounds from the distillate, but it also can remove some rewarding flavours too. I think when they take their time with it and age it for 12 or more years in quality oak this can create some of the best whiskeys I’ve had. However, if it’s rushed or the oak is too old the result is a little flat or one dimensional.

Looking at Black Bush first. Black Bush is a blended Irish Whiskey. It is made from about 20% grain whisky and 80% malt whisky. In Ireland that means that 20% is an undisclosed blend of grains run through a column distill, while 80% is moved through a pot still. With Black Bush this 80 % is then aged in Oloroso Sherry casks. I am unclear of the overall age here, but it is likely 7 – 8 years.

On the nose I enjoy some fresh fruit and an inviting sweetness. There is a bit of vanilla and I can catch caramel too. Taking a sip, I find the caramel notes grow and the sweetness is pleasant. However, the fruit fades. I enjoy the nose much more than the palate with this blend. The finish is short to medium. There is a bit of astringency or alcohol burn here, but little oak influence.
Moving over to the Connemara. This time I chose their peated expression. The one I have here is a non-age stamped version so I am only guessing at what is in here. I found online a suggestion that it is made up of 4, 6, and 8 year old blends. It is a malt, so only barley and as stated, this expression is peated.

I really love peated whiskeys and when my wife purchased this for me I was sure I would really like it. The nose is OK, with the smoke balanced with a wood note or plant matter essence. It is only very lightly sweet, almost hard to pick up. Once I take a sip however, this falls apart. I find the smoke moves to an almost fake smoke taste and little other flavours come up. If I work at it, there are some cereal notes, also the spiciness is refreshing. The finish is short, except for the peat notes which continue. After having a few sips the taste is plastic or rubber. I’m sorry to Kilbeggan but I just do not like this one.

If you are new to Irish Whiskey and have not tried Black Bush yet, please consider it. The nose if very good and the drink holds up in the glass and makes a refreshing cocktail.

Bushmills Black Bush Rating: ✮✮✮✬✰
Connemara Peated Irish Whiskey: ✮✮✰✰✰
Link to my Video Review: https://youtu.be/dGntgjsfdf0

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