It’s been a big year for Bushmills. The Irish whiskey maker unveiled its £37m new distillery, next door to the Old Bushmills Distillery, close to the Giant’s Causeway on the Antrim coast. It has also expanded its range of permanent single malts, adding a 25YO, aged in port pipes for 21 (46% ABV, £790), and a 30YO, with 16 in Pedro Ximénez butts (46% ABV, £1,990), to a range that previously topped out at 21YO. The 25YO offers blackberry, plum and dark cherry poured over a dark chocolate torte, while the 30YO has a mouthfeel almost as syrupy as PX sherry itself, with cinnamon-topped pastéis de nata joining marmalade-glazed madeleines on the palate. The lengthy finish allows different fruit and spice notes to alert the taste buds over time.

Available from whiskyshop.com