The fourth and final release in the Bushmills Rare Cask Series, a 31 year old American Oak Cask Finish, introduced this past spring.
Bushmills The Rare Casks is a four-part series of ultra-aged triple-distilled single malt Irish whiskeys available exclusively in the U.S. The collectible series from Northern Ireland debuted in 2020, and the age statement was nudged up each year until concluding in 2024 with the oldest and most expensive release in the series. Each bottle carries the signature of Colum Egan, Bushmills master distiller. In late 2021 year, owner Proximo Spirits, decided to upgrade the brand’s packaging changing the look of Rare Casks from the second release onwards, and they had to complete the project under the direction of a new master blender following the departure of Helen Mulholland in 2021.
With Bushmills having access to the largest stocks of single malt of any Irish distillery, the compelling aspect of these whiskeys’ rarity isn’t just their age statements, it’s also the result of the lengthy secondary maturation which was actually longer than the initial maturation. Originally distilled in the early 1990s, Bushmills began experimenting in the 2000s with re-casking its single malts into secondary casks to enhance the flavor of the Bushmills distillery character, although at the time, they didn’t have a specific series in mind for these experimental casks. Extended secondary maturation such as this is a rare form of cask finishing, but it’s a technique we’ve seen used in recent years in Scotland by master blender Maureen Robinson for The Singleton and Linkwood and by Dr. Bill Lumsden at Glenmorangie for the Pursuit of Passion series. While Bushmills released multiple rare expressions under The Causeway Collection in Ireland, the UK, and other markets during the same time period, with just four expressions and U.S. exclusivity, Bushmills The Rare Casks is a series that’s achievable for collectors to complete, is highly sought after outside of the U.S. market, and offers the Irish whiskey enthusiast a diverse flavor profile from Bushmills through unusual cask experiments resulting in lengthy 17 year secondary maturations, which seem unlikely to be repeated.
Bushmills The Rare Cask Series Reviewed
95 points: Bushmills The Rare Casks 28 year old Cognac Cask Finish, 46.7%, $500
Distilled in 1992, Helen Mulholland, then Bushmills master blender, monitored this whiskey during its 17-year finishing in cognac casks after its initial 11-year maturation in bourbon and oloroso sherry casks. Mulholland left Bushmills in late 2021, and she is now master blender at Sazerac-owned Lough Gill Distillery, Co. Sligo and sits on The Last Drop Distillers’ Assembly.
The cognac-cask finish finesses the intensity and concentration of the lush fruity character of this whiskey. There is a complex interplay of peach, apricot, apple, pineapple, lemon zest, marmalade, oak, faint spices, and dried fruit on the nose. A thick, velvety mouthfeel with flavors of sweet orange, grapefruit, and lime, sweep to a climax of peppercorn and clove, that abates with dried apricot, papaya, and Battenberg cake. Exceptional! (800 bottles)
92 points: Bushmills The Rare Casks 29 year old Pedro Ximénez Cask Finish, 53%, $750
After the first release, Bushmills gave fans a say in the selection of the second Rare Cask expression by releasing a three pack of samples through Flaviar, which included a 1992 bottling finished in Pedro Ximénez casks. Released in 2022, this whiskey was aged for 12 years in bourbon barrels before a 17-year secondary maturation in Pedro Ximénez casks. The whiskey was distilled on April 6, 1992; re-casked on July 12, 2004; and bottled on January 17, 2022.
After 17 years in the PX cask, the influence is irrefutable. Dates, figs, dried vine fruit, mixed peel, and rich sherry notes on the nose are followed by black cherry, prune juice, licorice, and baking spices. A surprisingly sweet palate begins with cherry, chocolate, and raspberry backed by peppercorn and clove, with a syrupy mid-palate of stewed rhubarb and plum and a greater oak presence as the sweetness fades. (500 bottles)
93 points: Bushmills The Rare Casks 30 year old Madeira Cask Finish, 46.7%, $1,000
Appointed in November 2021, master blender Alex Thomas selected this whiskey in late 2022 as the third release in the series. Triple-distilled on October 31st 1991, it was aged for 13 years and 4 months in bourbon and sherry casks until March 2nd 2005, when it began its secondary maturation in first-fill madeira casks where it stayed for a further 17 years.
This whiskey goes for the base notes, with aromas of peppercorn, nutmeg, coriander seed, chocolate-hazelnut ganache, blackberry, dried fig, and mixed peel in syrup. Amazingly thick and chewy, the flavors of dark fruits, cooked apple, caramel, chocolate, and pepper melt into a pool of malty chocolate, praline, fig roll, and concentrated red fruit, continuing into a lengthy, velvety finish.
95 points: Bushmills The Rare Casks 31 year old American Oak Cask Finish, 45.6%, $2,600
Master blender Alex Thomas chose a spectacular cask for the finale to The Rare Casks series. This one spent 14 years maturing in bourbon barrels and sherry butts before undergoing a 17-year finish in new toasted American oak casks.
The fourth and final release is an exceptional whiskey, not just an exceptional Bushmills. The nose has peaches in syrup, marmalade, honey, floral notes, toasted coconut, clove, milk chocolate, and coffee grounds. Dried mango, passion fruit syrup, citrus, apple, white chocolate, and vanilla on the palate with white pepper running into the tropical fruits on the finish. (780 bottles)
