Bushmills The Causeway Collection 1989 Port Cask #6096

Distilled in April 1989 and bottled in 2021, this 32 year old Bushmills single malt comes from a single Port cask numbered 6096, released as part of The Causeway Collection. Like its sister cask, it spent its entire life in one Port cask before being bottled at 50.1 percent ABV, non chill filtered and with no colouring added.

This is a quieter, more measured expression than cask 6095. The Port influence is still very much present, but it leans more towards elegance than weight. The nose opens with red fruits, dried berries and gentle wine notes, followed by polished oak and soft spice. On the palate it is rounded and composed, with stewed fruits, vanilla, light chocolate and a subtle sweetness that never tips into heaviness. The finish is long but calm, with lingering fruit and dry oak rather than heat.

Bottled in a smaller outturn than its sister cask, this release shows how much variation can come from individual casks even when everything else lines up on paper. Same distillation year, same age, same cask type, same series, but a noticeably different personality. Where cask 6095 brings more intensity and power, cask 6096 takes a more refined, fruit-led route, letting the Port cask speak without raising its voice.

Taken on its own, this is a beautifully balanced long-matured Bushmills. Set beside its sibling, it becomes something more interesting again, a clear example of why single cask releases still matter when they’re left alone and given time.