Bushmills to release Limited Edition Expression to commemorate 400th Anniversary
September 14th, 2007In 1608, the region of Bushmills was granted a license to distill. The Bushmills distillery is commemorating this anniversary in 1608 by releasing a limited edition blended whisky called Bushmills 1608.
Interestingly, according to my press release, the whiskey is a blend of three different types of whiskey–a malt whiskey, a grain whiskey, and a third component which is said to be a malt whiskey produced from crystal malt. Brewers and homebrewers will know crystal malt well, being a slightly caramelized version of malted barley. The whiskey is being bottled at 46% ABV, and it’s nice to see it bottled at the higher strength.
Bushmills 1608 will be available in the U.S. from February through December 2008, with a suggested retail of $75.
As a side note, it’s nice to see Bushmills promoting the licence accurately. For quite some time the distillery promoted themselves as the oldest licensed distillery in the world, citing the 1608 license. But the license was not specifically for the Bushmills distillery, but rather for the Bushmills region. I suspect that this is why they are releasing an “approachable” whiskey from a financial standpoint, sort of downplaying the anniversary to a degree. I just received a small sample and will offer you my thoughts to you shortly.
