A single malt whiskey with a single taste. Taking form within a simplistic realm, Bushmills (10 Year Old) is a smooth, easy to drink, sweet whiskey with strong notes of vanilla cream and floral twitches. It sits a tingle at the tip of your tongue while it mellows a coat of sweet floral and toffee arrays throughout your mouth. Being a nice summer whiskey that you can sit back and enjoy on a hammock and remember times you had ice cream and sherry - because, you know, nostalgia. Great for a mix, however easy to drink straight; a strong Irish whiskey for the daily commute which misses something important.
There is nothing profoundly special about Bushmills (10 Year Old) and while the simple creamy vanilla and floral taste is dominate and its smoothness outstanding compared to similar drops, it is just what you'd expect. It's a simple, easy drink Whiskey which can par with anything and taste great. Just a like a Jameson's or - dare I say it, sigh - Johnny Walker, Bushmills can easily appeal to the masses because it knows what it's doing, and it does it brilliantly. It has a mild bourbon quality thanks to its aging process, but the sherry hints (which shine in Scotch) sneaks through subtlety and give it a competitive edge when comparing it against such. There is no smoky character, rich variety of spices and tastes, but it does have a quality generally forgotten when citing whiskey and I can't stress this enough - its easy. I could quite easily see myself knocking Bushmills (10 Year Old) back at the pub, or on the porch and feeling satisfied. I rate it above the crowd when it comes to this kind of drink, however it's not a whiskey which tells a story so don't expect one.
I like a whiskey which has character; can tell the rich story of its past without compromising the experience of its offering. With this in mind, Bushmills (10 Year Old) doesn't find the mark here. It is a better-than-most great pick up from your local BWS or Dan Murphy's and it is great value for the quality drop hiding inside a frankly uninspired bottle. Great for a Sunday afternoon and watching the world go by - as is a Jamesons - and I can see myself yelling at the footy with one of these in hand. Sweet, simple and easy.