Bushmills Just Unveiled a 26-Year-Old Crystal Malt Irish Whiskey

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Robb Report may receive an affiliate commission.

When most people think of Irish whiskey, the first name that comes to mind is Jameson—and rightly so, since the brand dominates sales in the category. But the second name they might think of is Bushmills, and that’s also for a good reason. Its whiskey is made at one of the oldest distilleries in the world, and the portfolio ranges from an affordable blend to excellent age-statement single malts. The distillery’s latest release, which falls into the latter style, is an excellent 26-year-old whiskey that was made using a special kind of barley to give it a lovely chocolate character.

Bushmills only produces single malt whiskey, so the grain component that goes into the core blend is sourced from Midleton, the distillery that produces the aforementioned Jameson Irish Whiskey. The distillery been has been around since the late 1700s, although there are records of whiskey being made in the area that date back to 1608 (the brand rounds its history up to 400 years old based on this). Last spring, Bushmills released a 46-year-old single malt aged in a pair of sherry casks that was the oldest Irish single malt bottled to date (there have been older pot still whiskeys).

This new Bushmills expression, which launched in the U.K. and E.U. last year, is about half that old, but it’s a really tasty whiskey due to the fact that it was made using crystal malt. Also known as caramel malt, this type of barley is commonly used to make beer, and has been “processed to crystallize sugars during kilning,” according to the brand. In other words, it is roasted after malting in a manner that produces caramel and chocolate notes, both of which come through prominently as you sip. The whiskey was triple distilled, put into first-fill bourbon barrels from Kentucky’s Kelvin Cooperage on November 20, 1997, and bottled at 46 percent ABV after 26 years. We got to try a sample, and it is quite good. There are big chocolate malt notes that lead the palate, along with fresh fruit, a bit of grass, and long notes of vanilla and caramel.

Bushmills 26 Year Old Crystal Malt will be available in select U.S. markets starting later this month for a suggested retail price of $1,000 per bottle. You can find the rest of the lineup, including all of the single malts ranging in age from 10 to 30 years old, available now at websites like ReserveBar.