#MiniTasting - Don't beat around the Bush!

A trip across the Irish Sea, figuratively speaking, for the #MiniTasting gang as we look at some of @BushmillsUK standard range.

Dram		Original (White Bush)	Black Bush	10yo
Characteristics		40% ABV	40% ABV	40% ABV
Distillery info		Bushmills Original Irish Whiskey is a blend of our own triple distilled malt whiskey and a lighter grain whiskey and has picked up 36 awards this year alone. You’ll notice its rich, smooth warming taste almost instantly.	Bushmills Black Bush Irish Whiskey combines a high amount of malt whiskey matured in former Oloroso Sherry casks, with a sweet, batch-distilled grain whiskey. This unique recipe means Black Bush has rich, fruity notes and a deep intense character, balanced by an incredibly unique smoothness.	Bushmills Single Malt Whiskey 10 year old is triple distilled from 100% malted barley and matured for at least 10 years in bourbon season barrels which give it its honey, vanilla and milk chocolate aroma.
Appearance
		It's coloured but a lovely bright gold in the glass, thin fast legs when swirled.	Again coloured but Black Bush a slightly darker gold, more thin fast legs when swirled.	Another pale dram, this one is in mainly ex-bourbon casks I think. But it will have been coloured for consistency. The 40 % also presents as slow fast legs when swirled.
Nose	Brian	Vanilla, stewed orchard fruit (stewed pears) and a hint of pineapple. There's a touch of spice and a little wet grass.	Tropical fruit / tinned fruit juice (thanks John) a sign of triple distillation? Charred pineapple and a citrus note. More going on with this one that the Original.	Along the same lines as it's younger siblings with tropical fruit notes. There's a little vanilla on this one and some wet grass.
	John	That tinned fruit syrup you had when you were a kid. Getting some pears and a touch of tropical fruits as well - which I very much associate with Irish whiskey. Something slightly floral as well and maybe some slight dry hay.	The initial nose is very similar to the Original, with that tinned fruit syrupy but also something slightly drier, more herbal... more complex nose on this one compared to the Original which is certainly better...	The difference between these drams tonight are very subtle - this 10yo has maybe just a touch more spice on the nose, still tropical fruit and pineapple...
	Paul	Very green, pears and apples, plenty of grain whiskey in there to. White sugar, floral	Similar to original with the green fruits, damp grass but there is more to it. Cinnamon, strawberry, some citrus, polished oak. But its all toned down and made softer by the grain.	Big green fruits and polished oak - coming from triple distillation? very sweet, boiled sweets. Its like original but...better. I want to say green jolly ranchers?
	Scott	Not a lot.Creamy, slightly herbaceous, maybe basil, and that's about that. Agree with @jwbassman_on the tinned fruit syrup	Citrusy nose, with some fudge and toffee. This is overall richer and thicker than the original Bush and I'm liking it all the more for it.	Bit mustier and dusty than the other Bushes but still that tinned fruit present that @jwbassman_ put me on to. This does not smell a green as the others either.
Palate	Brian	Smooth thin fruity arrival, slightly drying. The orchard fruit from the nose come through on the palate and also a gentle spice note.	Again a thin arrival, but with more flavour than the Original, the tropical fruit notes from the nose are joined by toffee and dried fruit. Again a gentle spice notes wraps things up.	Sweeter than the previous two but again very smooth if a little thin. Dried pineapple and stewed pears. This one has more icing sugar notes giving a dryness on the tongue. Not as much spice on this one. Can't help but think a moderate increase in ABV would work wonders for this whiskey.
	John	It's quite thin, the syrupy sweetness continues, not a huge amount by way of development.	I'm finding this very similar on the palate, quite a thin arrival, maybe slightly more in the development here.	The palate is a very similar event to the previous two but this does have a slightly better mouthfeel to me - but crying out for a higher ABV though...
	Paul	A bit thin for me that but fruity, sweet, getting the green fruits again. A little chili pepper there to. Very easy to drink - "smooth"	Digestives, fruit, citrus and some spices. That hint of red fruits from the sherry casks. Boiled sweets. Interesting similarities and differences with original.	Bit of wood spice, apple, pear, fruity, sticking with green jolly rancher (sweet green fruit), wet hay, slightly earthy. They really are all quite similar.
	Scott	Thin, pretty sweet, but some saltiness too. Even a bit of spice. coriander? A very easy drinker this one.	Hmm, not as thick a mouthfeel as the nose suggests. The sherry is there but not overly so. Dried fruits, slightly spicy and a hint of vanilla.	Pretty much the same as the others, maybe a wee bit more texture and an increased spice. Extra time in the cask perhaps?
Finish	Brian	A short herby minty spicy finish again with a little orchard fruit.	More fruit, less spice on this one. Tropical notes follow through from the palate.	This one has a much longer finish that the previous two, some dryness and a little spice but predominantly its the tropical fruit notes which linger.
	John	It's got a bit of heat in the finish, which fades pretty quickly...	A slightly softer more rounded finish but not a huge difference.	The finish is probably the best of the three.
	Paul	A bit of oak, creamy and the pepper. Dies away quite quickly.	Fruity and malty, the sherry influence dies away quickly. Sweet and peppery with abit of grapefruit sourness. Similar conclusions to original really.	Cinnamon sweetness, some pear. Goes quite quickly. Again, I can't pick fault really. This is nice, I like it. But there is something I feel could be better...abv?
	Scott	Quite a long one. Dry and more spice. Something like Cardamom.  Been through a lot of curry ingredients already.	Pretty short, the spice does away pretty fast for me. Usual bitter oaked grapefruit finish I get from a lot of sherried drams. A wee bit dry too.	The 10yr old isn't as bitter as the others, and not as short either. Nice warming red apple type thing going on.
Overall	Brian	A cheap basic blend of young triple distilled malt and grain whiskey. Easy drinker.	This has more single malt than the Original c80% & more sherry cask so gives a more complex blend. It's not going to blow you away but for £27 an easy drinker.	For me I think the @BushmillsUK  Black Bush had it over the 10yo then the Original - the slightly higher sherry influence giving it a little more complexity. It would be good to see a higher ABV or even some cask strength releases.
	John	As already noted it's a very easy drinking dram, pleasant flavours, sweet, very approachable - on sale for about £16 at Amazon at the moment and for that price I guess you can't really grumble.	Overall this is better than the Original, better nose and a slightly more rounded palate - again it is what it is, very approachable, decent enough, not much more to be said about it.	We've tried three very approachable, easy-drinking drams, not a lot to choose between them... the 10yo probably just shades it for me due to the slightly better palate, then Black Bush and Original. Interesting drams to try and compare but that's about it.
	Paul	It's nice enough, easy to drink, not a huge amount going on but all things considered, it's quite ok. Would we say this was more a mixer? I think its better than that, but not by much in all honesty. But like John says....£16!	Similar conclusions to original really.	I think the main thing these drams show me is @BushmillsUK is good, these are obviously young but they are still nice enough. If there was a 10 - ish year old cask strength bottle, id be in line to get one. Hopefully I find something like that next year when I go.
	Scott	Nice simple dram for the opener.		Overall, after hacking through an amazing array of bushes I think the Black was my pick of the bunch. Bit more going on for me in that one. All really easygoing, drinkable drams though.

Many thanks to the team for sharing their thoughts and Paul & John for sharing the samples!

@Coldorak also joined in with his thought as he had some of the same drams, you can read his thoughts here!