Bushmills 16 Year Old 3 Wood

Bushmills 16 is a triple distilled, 40% abv, single malt irish whiskey. Aged sixteen years in both bourbon and sherry casks. Then, they marry those two and let them rest another six to nine months in port casks. The theory behind this process is to create a rich spirit with lots of complexity. I've been eyeing this SM for quite a while now. At a relatively affordable price ($58) and a sixteen year old, it seems like I'm getting a lot for my money. We shall see!

Nose: Vanilla, corn, sherry, toffee, lots of chocolate, nutmeg, all kind of intertwined with oak.

Palate: Feels very thin, almost watery. Then vanilla and boom! corn, BIG corn. Caramel and toffee lifts from the sides of the tongue. The sherry follows overwhelmingly strong In an off way along with nuts. And like a freight train an overwhelming slap in the mouth of something that I can't put my finger on, Maybe rancid? Maybe suffer? I always hear that sulfer kind of tastes like rotten eggs, but no eggs here. A friend of mine said it's oak. I've never tasted oak that way before. I still don't know if that's what it is, but it's just too weird for my palate. That flavor stays strong and some dark chocolate arises.

Finish: The weird flavor remains. The dark chocolate turns to milk chocolate. Medium length.

I much rather drink their ten year, single malt expression. IMHO, it seems that this triple distilled sixteen is trying to be something that is not. There is a clash of the irish style smoothness and the richness of the triple maturing. I actually give this bottle away when it was half empty, which it's a first for me. Maybe I'm comparing it too much to single malt scotch.

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