Bushmills Irish Whiskey has launched the travel retail-exclusive Rum Cask Reserve, the latest variant in The Steamship Collection of rare single malts.
Rum Cask Reserve is the fourth expression in the range, and follows the release of Sherry Cask Reserve in 2015, Port Cask Reserve in 2016, and Bourbon #3 Char Cask Reserve last year.
Bushmills said The Steamship Collection was inspired by the voyages of the steamship SS Bushmills in 1890, which introduced Bushmills Irish Whiskey to new corners of the world. On its return, a variety of seasoned casks from wine and spirits producers around the globe were added to The Old Bushmills Distillery’s collection.
Rum Cask Reserve was inspired by the SS Bushmills’s homeward bound journey, which included a stop in St. Vincent in the Caribbean, with rum brought back.
“We are always innovating and, like the crew aboard the SS Bushmills, we love exploring new flavours that complement the smooth taste of our Bushmills Irish Whiskey,” said Bushmills Irish Whiskey Master Blender Helen Mulholland.
“For me, nothing brings out beautiful tropical flavours in our whiskey like maturation in a rum cask, so a Caribbean-centric edition for The Steamship Collection was a natural next step for us. To create this rare expression, we matured our fine single malt in first fill Caribbean rum casks to create a rich and perfectly balanced whiskey with notes of tropical fruit, subtle spice and vanilla pod with a smooth and creamy toffee finish.”
The Steamship Collection is distributed in travel retail by Proximo. The company’s Global Travel Retail Director, David Phelan, commented: “The popularity of Irish whiskey, especially premium malts, continues to soar and our focus for the global travel retail space is to give travellers something they can’t find in their domestic markets.”
Rum Cask Reserve has an ABV of 40% and a RRSP of £99 (US$129).
