Review: Bushmills 26 Years Old Crystal Malt
While it was released in the UK and EU in 2024, Bushmills waited almost a year before dropping its 26 year old Crystal Malt in the United States. Common in beermaking, crystal malts are a type of caramel malt in which wet barley is allowed to sprout and is then heated at various levels in a sealed, moisture-retaining vessel until the starches undergo saccharification. That’s followed by high-temperature drying, which causes the sugars to harden, or “crystalize.” Crystal malts typically contain a relatively high percentage of unfermentable sugars, which can significantly change the profile of a mash. (Bushmills says crystal malts impart an “intense, creamy, chocolate flavor” to their final product.)
This 26 year-old whiskey isn’t Bushmills’ first release featuring crystal malt, and both the 400th anniversary “1608” bottling and a 23 year old expression have featured that ingredient as a significant grain component. But the 26 year old whiskey is certainly the oldest Bushmills release to feature crystal malt in a starring role.
The Bushmills 26 Year Old Crystal Malt was triple distilled before a barreling date of November 20, 1997. It was aged entirely in first fill bourbon barrels that originated at Kelvin Cooperage in Kentucky. It’s bottled at 46% abv (92 proof) and carries an MSRP of $1,000.
Let’s see how it tastes.
Bushmills 26 Years Old Crystal Malt Review
The nose kicks off with a potent fruit medley that leans tropical (papaya, guava, starfruit) but also boasts canned peaches and syrup-preserved pears. It’s as if those fruit aromas are enveloped within even sweeter, more sugary scents — guava syrup or a flavored glaze comes to mind. Tiny pops of oak astringency come through with additional time in glass, and seasoned wood chips build with very deep inhales; that said, the wood itself clearly plays second (or perhaps third) fiddle here. A little light/blonde roast coffee also wafts out of the glass, along with herbal and bitter cherry notes.
A first sip brings loads of fruit, and it’s significantly more tart than the nose might imply, like underripe cherries, crisp green pears, and gooseberries. On the second sip, tamarind muscles its way to the top of the heap and seems to layer on with each additional taste. The midpalate features sweeter and more ripe tropical fruit, alongside butterscotch soft serve and creme brulee. Transitioning to the back palate brings more light roast coffee, with increasingly dark caramel, sandalwood, and smoked maple — and perhaps honey syrup.
Once again, we’ve got an unsurprisingly fruity final act, but this time a more honed balance between sweet and tart, like bitter orange juice. Bushmill’s latest also shows a bit of minerality here, akin to salted caramel and peach slices with a little brine. A final taste of roasted, slivered almonds bookends a lengthy finish that eventually descends into nutty, oaky territory.
It’s excellent stuff, and a great showcase of how Bushmills can elevate and differentiate its distillate after hundreds of years in business.
92 proof.
A / $1,000
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