Bushmills 25 Years Marsala Cask Irish Single Malt Whiskey Review

I’m a sucker for lesser-used/known cask finishes or aging, so when it was revealed this is aged in marsala, I was even more enamored with the Bushmills 25 Years Marsala Cask Irish Single Malt Whiskey. It didn’t affect the score mind you (the score stays the score after a reveal), it just added to my desire to try it again, dive deeper and get to know it even better.

Bushmills 25 Years Marsala Cask Irish Single Malt Whiskey Review

Aged in the ex-Marsala casks for the entirety of its 25 years, it’s amazing that the spirit hasn’t been completely steamrolled by the Marsala sherry. It definitely holds a heavy presence, but it doesn’t run roughshod over it and allows it room to show. This is going to be a fun review. The aroma alone had me drooling.

 

Bushmills 25 Years Marsala Cask Irish Single Malt Whiskey – Details and Tasting Notes

 

Whiskey Details

Region: Ireland

Distiller: Bushmills
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Marsala
Age: 25 Years
ABV: 50%

Price: $NA (yet)*

White background tasting shot with the Bushmills 25 Years Marsala Cask bottle and a glass of whiskey next to it.
“A classic Irish Single Malt aged for a quarter century in three premium woods for the win.” – Flaviar

Tasting Notes

EYE
Dark red

NOSE
Soy sauce, stewed cherries,  deep sherry, printer’s ink, roasted nuts, ash, leather, x-mas cake, honey, black walnuts and oak.

PALATE
Deep sherry, stewed cherries, ink, roasted nuts, ash, leather, x-mas cake, honey, black walnuts, cola spice and oak with touches of citrus, copper and roasted malt.

FINISH
Long -> Sticky dark sweetness, nuts, sulfur and citrus.

BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Great balance, heavy and round with an oily feel.

Bushmills 25 Years Marsala Cask – Overall

Aroma is perversely good with the deep gooey dark notes ranging from fruit to confections with even darker earthy-leathery underpinnings; Palate reflects the aroma but drops a few octaves still and brings a doom-level bass of sticky-darkly-sweet and muddy-leathery-earthy-metallic profiles; Finish is the perfect sticky sweet cap on this with just a dash of balancing sulfur.

Please Bushmills, may I have some more? I need this in my life, it’s so… perverse… and good. It just barely eeks out the 23 Year Crystal Malt.


Bushmills 25 Years Marsala Cask Irish Single Malt Whiskey – Final Thoughts and Score

This hits like many of the old-school sherried giants we love. Back when paxarette was legal and it felt more like you were chewing your whiskey than drinking it. Like a zombie in a wedding dress, there’s a soulful elegance to this deep dark monstrosity and I just can’t get over it.

I hope they make the Bushmills 25 Years Marsala Cask Irish Single Malt Whiskey Review a regular release. This is the exact kind of whiskey I search for regularly. Not to drink on my own, but to share with my friends and get their thoughts and reactions. I’m sure this one would be polarizing, but I’m wholly in the positive column!

SCORE: 5/5

*Disclosure: The sample for this Irish Whiskey review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.

Bushmills 25 Years Marsala Cask Irish Single Malt Whiskey Label

Bushmills 25 Years Marsala Cask Irish Single Malt Whiskey Review
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Summary

This is a throw-back to what whiskey was 50 years ago. This is the kind of oily, almost mechanical, dark and surly whiskeys that drive collectors nuts. This is amazing in every sense of the word.

Overall
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    (5)

  • Palate










    (5)

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    (5)

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    (5)

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