The boundless creativity and expertise of Bushmills’ Master Blender, Alex Thomas shine through in every aspect of these limited edition, cask-finished Irish single malts: On 7 November 2023, Alex confirmed that the two expressions, carefully selected from Bushmills’ unparalleled aged reserves, are a 2010 Cognac Cask and a 1999 New American Oak Cask. This unparalleled single malt has spent its entire life maturing in the finest new American oak casks. We filled the casks with new make spirit and left the liquid untouched, to marry with this wood. The fresh oak imparts layers of rich flavour over time – wonderful vanilla intensity, coconut, warm spice and creamy chocolate. Nose: Fresh & fruity - lychee, pear, apple, mango & pineapple. Fresh coconut flesh. Rice pudding with star anise & clove. Sugar coated almonds, caramel & cardamom pods. Beeswax too.

This year’s collection features twelve new releases to be launched worldwide across 8 markets, and includes two bottlings exclusively released for the island of Ireland, the 2011 Sauternes Cask, a first for Bushmills Irish Whiskey, and a 1995 Marsala Cask aged in rare Marsala casks for an unprecedented 15 years. Each whiskey, carefully selected by Alex for release this year stands with the best of single malts, a giant in its own right. This third iteration includes a 33 Year Old Port, the oldest expression ever released from The Old Bushmills Distillery, as well as 25 and 30 year old Madeiras, an 11 Year Old Cognac and an 11 Year Old Banyuls. The collection also includes several exciting and innovative cask finishes, including a 2012 Pomerol, a 1997 Rum, a 12YO Tequila, a 2012 Burgundy and a 2002 Vermouth. To celebrate this special release, Bushmills Irish Whiskey has collaborated with three renowned Irish artists to craft a short film that brings together words, music and images to reflect the home of the Causeway Collection. Irish spoken word artist, Stephen James Smith, has used his poetry to bring to life the story of Bushmills accompanied by photography from Ruth Medjber and music by Kormac.Tasting is where the Marsala influence strikes with sudden intensity. There are multiple layers of dried fruits, pimento and rich dark honey . There’s an almost viscous mouth feel fading to a long bitter-sweet finish of very dark chocolate. Even at cask strength, it can be sipped neat with none of the flavours masked by the alcohol. To fully appreciate this whiskey, add a little water to bring it to even greater heights. I found the water envelope to be quite tight as I added a drop too much on my first attempt. One of the fun things about cask strength whiskeys is that the last person involved in making this whiskey is you as you add that final touch of water to make the best version of this whiskey just for you. This is why it’s considered “slightly” rude in Ireland to water another person’s whiskey!!

We are delighted to announce the launch of the 30 Year Old New American Oak Cask as a global travel retail exclusive at Dublin and Cork Airports. Releasing this special single malt into global travel retail is a testament to our commitment to the market and an example of how we are always looking to give travelers something special they can’t find anywhere else. For travelers to Dublin and Cork Airports, what better option than the oldest single malt release from Bushmills, the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery?” My own impressions on the 2021 Causeway Collection? These are two exceptional Cask Strength Single Malt Irish Whiskeys. This is a sensational whiskey which we tasted two years ago and laid down again to allow the magic of the cask infuse the whiskey, and the result is truly exceptional. The years have intensified the cognac’s Ugni Blanc grape aromas, resulting in a single malt bursting with ripe pear and buttery honeycomb with layers of deeper cinnamon spice, leather and dried fruits.”The second exclusive release for the Irish market is a 1999 New American Oak Cask. This limited-edition, cask strength, non chill-filtered single malt has spent an incredible 23 years patiently maturing in the finest virgin American oak casks. Palate: Vibrant even after 28 years. Sweet malt then all the tropical notes from the nose with some banana thrown in for good measure. Stem ginger syrup, pink peppercorns and cardamom. Vanilla syrup infused mocha. The beeswax again makes an appearance. Prior to the release of the Causeway Collection (of which the two reviewed here are Irish exclusives) you had to get cask strength Bushmills from the likes of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and generally they would have been bourbon cask only. Or you had to be fortunate enough to attend one of Seamus Lowry's Bushmills tastings where you might have got to taste cask strength components of the 21 year old core expression. It is truly a privilege to work with such rare whiskeys in The Causeway Collection. They are the fruits of over 400 years of Bushmills whiskey-making tradition, each expertly created and nurtured over decades. The Causeway Collection is a celebration of our passion for single malts, and these special whiskeys are our greatest treasures. At Bushmills, we continue to innovate and create new expressions to excite the whiskey community. This collection, which includes sensational liquids matured expertly over many years, is our gift to them. We are proud to build on the growing legacy of The Causeway Collection in 2022 and excited to share it with whiskey fans around the globe.” The rare and limited 27-Year-Old Bourbon Cask is available now, exclusively from The Irish Whiskey Collection at The Loop, Dublin and Cork Airports and online at theloop.ie. Only 678 bottles of this single malt are available, bottled at cask strength (52.1% ABV), non-chill filtered and priced at RSP €650 DP for 700ml.