Our drinks writer was sent a sample of a very rare, €12,000 whiskey. Here’s his verdict – The Irish Times

It is not often I get to taste a sample of a €12,000 whiskey (indeed never before), so when Bushmills Distillery emailed me asking if I wanted a sample of their latest release, how could I refuse?

The whiskey in question is Bushmills Secrets of the River Bush 46-Year-Old Single Malt. Apparently a mere 300 bottles have been produced, and only 38 of those will be made available in Ireland.

At 46 years of age, it is the oldest single malt whiskey ever released, having spent that time in old Oloroso casks. Each numbered bottle comes in a smart walnut cask.

My sample duly arrived, beautifully packaged in a specially designed box. Unfortunately, my tiny bottle had leaked a little, losing what was probably a few hundred euros worth of whiskey into the cardboard packaging.

However, I managed to salvage enough for two little tastes, one diluted with a drop of water.

So what does a €12,000 whiskey taste like?

It’s deep in colour and smells of polished old mahogany cupboards and Christmas cake. At 46.3 per cent abv, it tasted quite fiery, but fairly exploded with all sorts of complex flavours and I could still taste it a minute later.

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Is it worth €12,000? Could any bottle of anything be worth that much? I think this is one those “if you have to ask then it’s not for you” things.

I suspect the bottles will be purchased by whiskey collectors who will keep it for a few years before selling it on again at an even higher price.