Irish whiskey Bushmills has released a 36-year-old whiskey, Bushmills Hill Street Edition, which will set you back £5,000 (US$6,330).
Limited to 208 bottles, the whiskey was made exclusively for Belfast whiskey shop The Friend at Hand on Hill Street. It marks the oldest and rarest Bushmills whiskey launched in Europe.
Distilled in 1986, the whiskey was recasked in a Sherry hogshead in March 2001. It was bottled at 48% ABV.
Alex Thomas, Bushmills master blender, said: “In every bottle of Bushmills, we honour our past and the immense passion and patience required to craft the world’s most exclusive single malts.
“It is my privilege to bring this exceptional whiskey back to Belfast, to the site of Bushmills’ former HQ on Hill Street, in what is a milestone moment for the brand.
“Its exceptionally smooth caramelised fruit and honey finish and rich golden chestnut colour is a testament to the time it has spent in cask. This is a once-in-a-lifetime whiskey.”
Tasting notes for Bushmills Hill Street Edition include aromas of honey, ripe berries, subtle spice and soft antique wood undertones. The taste is said to emulate apricot, plum, raisins and figs, leading to toasted oak, dark chocolate and toasted almonds. There is also a hint of cinnamon and clove.
Hill Street was once filled with bonded warehouses. Bushmills barrels would have been rolled down the street’s cobbles to ships docked on the Farset River, before being shipped around the world.
In April last year, the whiskey brand opened its £37 million (US$46m) ‘state-of-the-art’ Causeway Distillery, more than doubling its production capacity.
Furthermore, the brand, owned by Proximo Spirits, passed one million-case-sales for the first time in 2022.