It’s been a while since I tried anything by The Ultimate. It’s a series from Dutch whisky importer, shop and bottler Van Wees in Amersfoort, and they are well known for their affordable bottlings (generally).

This one is no exception, with a 17 year old Bushmills clocking in at just € 80. It was released earlier this month at Van Wees’ own Pot Still Festival, and was received quite enthusiastically. As a result it has started to sell out very quickly, but I was lucky enough to be just in time to get a bottle at my local bottle shop Drinks & Gifts.

Funny, by the way, that this is the first Bushmills from Van Wees, even though they’ve been proudly showing the distillery on the label since The Ultimate’s inception.

Two years ago Van Wees celebrated their 100th anniversary with some nice bottlings. This year they were celebrating Han Van Wees’ 60th anniversary in the business. With that many years under their belt, they must be doing something right! And even so, I have only been to the shop once, and the festival two or three times. Maybe I should rectify this next year…

Sniff:
It’s typically sweet like you’d expect from a Bushmills of a decent age, and the wine gums are starting to show up as well. There’s green malt, sugary muesli, some vanilla, fresh grass and a floral hint too.

Sip:
The palate is largely similar but shows a little bit more barley notes. Porridge even, and some oak as well. So, the age of the whisky is noticeable. A whiff of green herbs and white pepper try to balance the pastry sweetness, but don’t completely get there.

Swallow:
The finish is surprisingly dry, with more herbs, barley and oak. The sweetness doesn’t completely go away, but it’s pushed back a bit more than expected. A touch of white pepper, oak, barley.

A nice and dangerously drinkable whisky. It’s a bit sweet compared to my normal picks, but it’s not as sweet as some (mostly older) Irish whiskies I’ve had.

At the original price, I recommend you get a bottle if you can!

88/100