Bushmills unveils 23YO Madeira-finished whiskey

Proximo Spirits-owned Bushmills has released a 23-year-old Irish whiskey matured in Madeira wine casks, exclusively for travel retail.

The whiskey will be available at Avolta’s World Duty Free stores at London’s Heathrow Airport for one month, and then later at Avolta stores worldwide. The distillery’s master blender Alex Thomas said: “I wanted to share something truly unique for our partners at Avolta. I chose this single malt aged exclusively in Madeira casks for its distinct profile, bursting with summer fruits, sweet peach and roasted nuts. “Each decision – from the cask selection and seasoning process, to the bottling and packaging – is testament to our restless pursuit of perfection and determination to delight consumers with ground-breaking and prestigious single malt whiskeys. “Having spent 23 years maturing in Madeira casks alone, I’m confident this one will be hugely popular. Its luscious sweetness is basically summer in a glass.” The whiskey – matured in Madeira oak casks for 23 years, having been filled on 30 June 2000 – will be part of the brand’s Causeway Collection. Its additional notes feature ‘waves of ripe summer fruits, caramelised sugar, black coffee and walnut oil’ on the nose. On the palate, there's ‘sweet peach and orange peel’, followed by ‘roasted nuts, honey and black coffee’. The finish is described as ‘delicate, dry, long and fruity, developing into rich nutty praline and toasted cocoa’. Bottled at 53.8% ABV, Bushmills 23 Year Old Madeira Cask retails for £390 (US$507) and is available for purchase from World Duty Free stores at Heathrow airport. To mark the launch, the brand will offer samples and gifting activities at the World Duty Free store in Terminal 3. Travellers who purchase the Madeira Cask will have a chance to win a miniature bottle of a previous Causeway Collection release. Last month, Bushmills also debuted a 15-year-old single malt exclusively in the UK.