One of the vital putting options of this whiskey is the truth that it is available in a particular, darkish hexagonal bottle.
Both the color and the form of the bottle are mentioned to be impressed by the Large’s Causeway, a pure marvel and UNESCO World Heritage Web site recognized for its distinctive hexagonal basalt columns. The Large’s Causeway is positioned on the north coast of Northern Eire, only a few miles northeast of the city of Bushmills, dwelling to the Outdated Bushmills Distillery. A phrase of warning although – as putting because the design of the bottle is, it’s additionally notoriously tough to pour from with out spilling (except I’m doing one thing fallacious?). I’ve discovered {that a} bottle pourer could be useful on this regard.
The Sexton, first launched in 2017, was created by Alex Thomas. Thomas first joined the staff on the Outdated Bushmills Distillery in 2004. In 2021 she was appointed grasp blender at Bushmills. The Sexton model is owned by Proximo Spirits, an American drinks firm which took over Bushmills in 2014. Whereas the whiskey that goes into The Sexton is distilled within the copper stills at Bushmills, it’s a very separate model.
An excessive amount of thought appears to have gone into the design and the title of this whiskey. A sexton is somebody who takes care of a church and carries out minor associated duties (such because the ringing of bells for providers and the digging of graves). The label contains a cranium sporting a prime hat, presumably a nod to those historic roles. The phrase “sexton” itself derives from the Medieval Latin phrase sacristanus, which implies “custodian of sacred objects”. As a distiller and grasp blender, Thomas has taken on this function in a metaphorical means, as she will be able to view herself as a caretaker of the whiskey throughout its maturation.
The Sexton is an Irish single malt whiskey, so it’s constructed from 100% Irish malted barley. Being sometimes Irish, it’s additionally triple distilled. It’s aged in ex-Oloroso sherry casks, and bottled at 40% ABV. Formally a no-age-statement launch, it’s nonetheless mentioned to be aged for 4 years.
There’s truly a brand new launch of The Sexton to maintain a watch out for – one which bears an eleven-year-old age assertion! It ought to be genuinely attention-grabbing to see what a number of extra years have finished for this whiskey. It was launched for retail at Dublin and Cork airports in January 2025, however you may quickly be capable to discover a bottle elsewhere. The eleven-year-old is supposed to be launched in different international journey retail markets in the course of the course of the 12 months.
Earlier than I get on to reviewing The Sexton, it ought to be famous that this explicit whiskey has, for no matter cause, been just a little bit hit-or-miss for me. And I don’t imply that I’ve observed marked variations between bottles – I imply that the exact same whiskey from the exact same bottle has managed to go away very totally different impressions on me at totally different instances.
I actually fairly preferred this whiskey after I first tasted it. Many of the Irish whiskey I are likely to see in bottle shops are blends, so this single malt from Eire was one thing pretty uncommon on the time (a mode that’s since grow to be just a little extra generally out there). My unique impression of this whiskey was that it was wealthy and strong (and I felt it could be my most popular Irish whiskey model).
But I’ve since tasted The Sexton and located that I used to be underwhelmed (the whiskey was simply “meh”– there simply didn’t actually appear to be something to it). I’ve additionally tasted this whiskey and been stunned and disenchanted to find that I didn’t significantly take pleasure in it (I discovered there was a barely bitter notice current which was off-putting). Nevertheless, I’ve tasted it subsequently (and never truly that lengthy afterward) and located I fairly preferred it once more. As soon as extra it appeared wealthy and heat and filled with fruit and spice.
That the very same whiskey – generally from the identical bottle, tasted only a day or two aside – can style fairly totally different appears to be a subject that many whiskey fanatics and professionals have puzzled over. I believe it’s truly a reasonably frequent phenomenon, and could be attributed to a couple various factors, largely to do with the human sensory facet of issues fairly than the whiskey itself.
Listed here are among the elements at play which will trigger this to occur. For a begin, flavours detected in whiskey could be influenced by what you’ve eaten lately. You’re usually warned in opposition to consuming spicy meals or ingesting espresso earlier than official whiskey tastings for a cause. These (amongst different foodstuffs) can go away lingering compounds in your mouth or nostril, which may negatively influence your means to select up on aromas and flavours within the whiskey. The smells round you (fragrance, cooking, smoke, and many others.) may also intervene together with your tasting expertise. Analysis from 2014 has proven that one’s olfactory sensitivity may also fluctuate resulting from issues like stress and fatigue. So, in the event you’re relaxed on Friday and harassed on Saturday, your mind might course of the flavours just a little in another way. Even lighting can impact what you style – findings from a research performed in 2013 counsel that sure modifications in lighting could make issues style kind of candy.
Consequently, it’s definitely price being open to revisiting a whiskey you didn’t essentially benefit from the first time round – it is probably not the fault of the whiskey! It’s additionally price tasting the identical whiskey once more in an effort to actually get probably the most out of it. You may discover that you’ll be able to detect some aromas or flavours that you just didn’t discover upon a earlier tasting (for a myriad of causes).
And on that considerably cautionary notice, beneath is my overview of The Sexton (with tasting notes compiled from quite a few totally different encounters with this whiskey, in an try to not miss out on an excessive amount of).
The Sexton – Evaluation
Color: Burnt amber.
On the nostril: I discovered that the general impression given is definitely of one thing just a little recent and floral. Some recent strawberries. There’s a candy and citrusy notice that jogs my memory of lemon meringue, after which a particular contact of toffee within the background. Some nutty, almond notes. Espresso-flavoured sweet. And the trace of one thing barely tart – like recent cranberries – which just about makes my nostril prickle.
Within the mouth: An preliminary sweet sweetness turns right into a drying, darkish chocolate bitterness. There’s fairly a powerful, fragrant woody notice, reminiscent, maybe, of freshly polished furnishings. Marizipan. Some prunes. A reasonably spicy end.
Conclusion:
I’d say that it is a first rate sufficient whiskey. Personally, I a lot favor the nostril of this whiskey to the palate. It appeared as if there was just a bit extra happening on the nostril, and I suppose I’m merely not the most important fan of that fragrant woody notice. It’s not that it’s truly offensive, I simply favor different flavours in my whiskey and I discovered this explicit notice fairly dominant.
The value of The Sexton has additionally climbed steadily within the final couple of years (to be honest, so have the costs of most different whiskies). I can now discover a bottle for round $42, which is roughly the identical worth as a bottle of Glenmorangie 12 Lasanta, or a bottle of Jura 12. To my thoughts that is ever so barely on the expensive facet for this whiskey – I’d fairly go for a kind of different bottles. Consequently, I received’t be within the largest rush to exchange my bottle after I’m finished.
