Hello Everyone. Welcome back. Today I am going to review an Irish whiskey. I reviewed the last Irish whiskey over 6 months ago. Jeeeeez. Time flies. About time I do review a great bottle. The Quiet Man, "an fear ciuin". 

The Quiet Man brand is owned by Niche Drinks who are at present building a new distillery in Ebrington Square, Derry/Londonderry, which will open in 2018 and solely produce malt whiskey with an expected output of 500,000 litres of pure alcohol a year. Currently they are purchasing whisky from other distilleries that they bottle under their own label. For this expression we have Bushmills (yummy) to thank.

It is 12 years old, non-chill filtered, bottled at 46% and matured in 'select Kentucky bourbon casks' according to the label. Reading on the internet and researching this bottle gave me a bit more knowledge about the maturation of this whisky. It was done in 2nd and 3rd fill barrels before being re-racked into fresh, 1st fill Kentucky bourbon barrels. Lovely combination!

I am hoping for a very fresh, fruity, zesty, vanilla forward whisky. 

About the Old Bushmills Distillery

The Old Bushmills Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery in Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, founded in 1784 and owned by Proximo Spirits. Bushmills Distillery uses water drawn from Saint Columb's Rill, which is a tributary of the River Bush. The distillery is a popular tourist attraction, with around 120,000 visitors per year.

The company that originally built the distillery was formed in 1784, although the date 1608 is printed on the label of the brand – referring to an earlier date when a royal licence was granted to a local landowner to distil whiskey in the area. Over 400 years later, whiskey is still being made in Bushmills, thanks to experience and craft passed down from generation to generation.

In the 1850s, the Crown imposed a tax on those distilling in Ireland through a tax on barley. Even then, malted barley was known throughout the world to make the finest whiskey, known as "pure malt" whiskey. When only malted barley is used in distillation, and made at a single distillery, you have the very definition of "single malt" whiskey. That tax, however, forever changed Irish whiskey, as almost every Irish whiskey distillery began substituting corn or other inferior grains for barley.

After various periods of closure in its subsequent history, the distillery has been in approximately continuous operation since it was rebuilt after a fire. In 1885, a disastrous fire destroyed The Old Bushmills Distillery but we pulled together, were soon rebuilt, and back in full production to meet soaring US demand.

Bushmills is more than just a whiskey. It's a village, where family, friends and neighbours work side by side at the distillery. As we often say, "without the village there would be no whiskey, and without the whiskey there would be no village". 

Triple distillation is the open secret of Bushmills Distillery that makes its whiskey unique and smooth. After Midleton Distillery, Bushmills is the second biggest Irish distillery with an annual production capacity of 4.5 million liters and stills are running seven days a week.

There are ten big pot stills and six spirit safes are the heart of the Old Bushmills Distillery and they perform the triple distillation that is typical for Bushmills Whiskey. Production is modern and computerized at Bushmills and it only needs one man to conduct the fermentation- and distillation process.

The Quiet Man "An Culchiste" 12 yo - Natural Color , Non-chill filtered, 46%

"My father was a bartender for over 50 years. But to those who sat in his pubs all over Belfast, he was "The Quiet Man." A familiar face who always had an open ear and a nugget of wisdom. Ever the gentleman, you could talk to The Quiet Man about anything and know he'd never tell a tale. It was the barman's code. And he took it seriously."

Let me start by saying that I love the Bushmills distillery. It is perhaps my favourite Irish distillery. To me their DNA is godlike. Amazing. I picked this bottle up during the Black Friday sale at whiskynet.hu for a great price. It was discounted from 65.99 euros to 39.99, a no brainer for a 12 year old Irish Single Malt. I already knew it was Bushmills so I was really happy about this purchase. Let us see what this whiskey has to offer.

Nose: Right away it screams that it is indeed an Irish whiskey. Bushmills DNA coming through. Lovely crisp apples, pears and peaches. Apricots and more fruitiness in the form of citrus fruits. A huge load of vanilla with barley sugars and caramel. Quite a huge amount of oak coming through. Bitter coffee and a bit of astringency probably from the 2nd and 3rd fill casks. Pineapple and bananas with cereal notes. Great nose.

Taste: Quite smooth but hefty at the same time. A huge burst of vanilla and honey coming through followed by some spicy oak and black pepper. Red apples, peaches, apricots, pears and lots of citrus fruits. Mostly oranges and lemons. Barley sugar and cereal notes. More oak followed by a damp note of banana and pineapples. Great layered taste, a bit agressive at first perhaps but after the first sip it is very fruity and friendly. Lovely.

Finish: Medium length. Sweet & astringent a bit. Vanilla, caramel and spicy oak. A basket of orchard fruits and tropical fruits with apple pie and vanilla sauce. Bitter espresso, dark chocolate and black pepper with more oak.

Overall this whisky is great. For some it might not be the best choice. It has a few off notes perhaps but gradually it gets better and better when sipping. Maybe 11 years was a bit too much in 2nd and 3rd fill casks. I really liked it, but imagine if it was in these casks for 6 years and then 6 years in the 1st fill barrels. WOW. That could have been even better. However in this form I will award this whisky 86 / 100. Great stuff. I think for 40 euros it was a steal. However I probably would not pay 65.99 euros for it. If it is in a promotion then buy it, try it. Drink responsibly.

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Check out the points on all the whiskies I've rated and ranked head-to-head over HERE.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.