One of the most striking features of this whiskey is the fact that it comes in a distinctive, dark hexagonal bottle.
Both the colour and the shape of the bottle are said to be inspired by the Giant’s Causeway, a natural wonder and UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its unique hexagonal basalt columns. The Giant’s Causeway is located on the north coast of Northern Ireland, just a few miles northeast of the town of Bushmills, home to the Old Bushmills Distillery. A word of warning though – as striking as the design of the bottle is, it’s also notoriously difficult to pour from without spilling (unless I’m doing something wrong?). I’ve found that a bottle pourer can be helpful in this regard.
The Sexton, first released in 2017, was created by Alex Thomas. Thomas first joined the team at the Old Bushmills Distillery in 2004. In 2021 she was appointed master blender at Bushmills. The Sexton brand is owned by Proximo Spirits, an American drinks company which took over Bushmills in 2014. While the whiskey that goes into The Sexton is distilled in the copper stills at Bushmills, it’s a completely separate brand.
A great deal of thought seems to have gone into the design and the name of this whiskey. A sexton is someone who looks after a church and carries out minor related duties (such as the ringing of bells for services and the digging of graves). The label features a skull wearing a top hat, presumably a nod to these historical roles. The word “sexton” itself derives from the Medieval Latin word sacristanus, which means “custodian of sacred objects”. As a distiller and master blender, Thomas has taken on this role in a metaphorical way, as she can view herself as a caretaker of the whiskey during its maturation.
The Sexton is an Irish single malt whiskey, so it’s made from 100% Irish malted barley. Being typically Irish, it’s also triple distilled. It’s aged in ex-Oloroso sherry casks, and bottled at 40% ABV. Officially a no-age-statement release, it’s nevertheless said to be aged for four years.
There’s actually a new release of The Sexton to keep an eye out for – one that bears an eleven-year-old age statement! It should be genuinely interesting to see what a few more years have done for this whiskey. It was released for retail at Dublin and Cork airports in January 2025, but you might soon be able to find a bottle elsewhere. The eleven-year-old is meant to be released in other global travel retail markets during the course of the year.
Before I get on to reviewing The Sexton, it should be noted that this particular whiskey has, for whatever reason, been a little bit hit-or-miss for me. And I don’t mean that I’ve noticed marked differences between bottles – I mean that the very same whiskey from the very same bottle has managed to leave very different impressions on me at different times.
I really quite liked this whiskey when I first tasted it. Most of the Irish whiskey I tend to see in bottle stores are blends, so this single malt from Ireland was something fairly unusual at the time (a style that’s since become a little more commonly available). My original impression of this whiskey was that it was rich and robust (and I felt it may well be my preferred Irish whiskey style).
Yet I have since tasted The Sexton and found that I was underwhelmed (the whiskey was just “meh”– there just didn’t really seem to be anything to it). I’ve also tasted this whiskey and been surprised and disappointed to discover that I did not particularly enjoy it (I found there was a slightly sour note present which was off-putting). However, I’ve tasted it subsequently (and not actually that long afterward) and found I quite liked it again. Once more it seemed rich and warm and full of fruit and spice.
That the exact same whiskey – sometimes from the same bottle, tasted just a day or two apart – can taste quite different seems to be a topic that many whiskey enthusiasts and professionals have puzzled over. I think it’s actually a fairly common phenomenon, and can be attributed to a few different factors, mostly to do with the human sensory side of things rather than the whiskey itself.
Here are some of the factors at play that may cause this to happen. For a start, flavours detected in whiskey can be influenced by what you’ve eaten recently. You’re often warned against eating spicy food or drinking coffee before official whiskey tastings for a reason. These (among other foodstuffs) can leave lingering compounds in your mouth or nose, which can negatively impact your ability to pick up on aromas and flavours in the whiskey. The smells around you (perfume, cooking, smoke, etc.) can also interfere with your tasting experience. Research from 2014 has shown that one’s olfactory sensitivity can also fluctuate due to things like stress and fatigue. So, if you’re relaxed on Friday and stressed on Saturday, your brain may process the flavours a little differently. Even lighting can have an effect on what you taste – findings from a study conducted in 2013 suggest that certain changes in lighting can make things taste more or less sweet.
As a result, it’s certainly worth being open to revisiting a whiskey you didn’t necessarily enjoy the first time around – it may not be the fault of the whiskey! It’s also worth tasting the same whiskey again so that you can really get the most out of it. You might find that you are able to detect some aromas or flavours that you didn’t notice upon a previous tasting (for a myriad of reasons).
And on that somewhat cautionary note, below is my review of The Sexton (with tasting notes compiled from a number of different encounters with this whiskey, in an attempt not to miss out on too much).
The Sexton – Review
Colour: Burnt amber.
On the nose: I found that the overall impression given is actually of something a little fresh and floral. Some fresh strawberries. There’s a sweet and citrusy note that reminds me of lemon meringue, and then a definite touch of toffee in the background. Some nutty, almond notes. Coffee-flavoured candy. And the hint of something slightly tart – like fresh cranberries – which almost makes my nose prickle.
In the mouth: An initial candy sweetness turns into a drying, dark chocolate bitterness. There’s quite a strong, aromatic woody note, reminiscent, perhaps, of freshly polished furniture. Marizipan. Some prunes. A fairly spicy finish.
Conclusion:
I’d say that this is a decent enough whiskey. Personally, I much prefer the nose of this whiskey to the palate. It seemed as though there was just a little more going on on the nose, and I suppose I’m simply not the biggest fan of that aromatic woody note. It’s not that it’s actually offensive, I just prefer other flavours in my whiskey and I found this particular note quite dominant.
The price of The Sexton has also climbed steadily in the last couple of years (to be fair, so have the prices of most other whiskies). I can now find a bottle for around $42, which is roughly the same price as a bottle of Glenmorangie 12 Lasanta, or a bottle of Jura 12. To my mind this is ever so slightly on the pricy side for this whiskey – I’d rather opt for one of those other bottles. As a result, I won’t be in the biggest rush to replace my bottle when I’m done.
