Description

The Irish love a drop of whiskey. It’s the drink we drink to toast a birth, a death, a special anniversary or just when we need a tonic after a shock! Bushmills Irish Whiskey is famous all over the world. It has over 400 years of history and heritage behind it, to become a world class drink sought after by whiskey connoisseurs.Licence was first granted to make whiskey in Co. Antrim in 1608. But the Bushmills Distillery didn’t become official until 1784. Hugh Anderson registered the distillery at this time and the Pot Still became the registered trademark.

As the 1800’s and 1900’s progressed, Bushmills became an award winning whiskey, including winning the only gold medal for whiskey in Paris in 1889. Literary recognition came later, with James Joyce mentioning Bushmills in his epic novel Ulysses.  Samuel Wilson had bought the distillery ten years previously, and held faith that prohibition in America would be lifted and his whiskey would sell like a dream! Which it did. And made him his fortune as he had always believed! The Second World War stopped production of Bushmills and a bomb attack on the Dublin offices destroyed all the company archives. But as the war ended and the boom years kicked in, production resumed and the whiskey proved as popular as it ever was.  Bushmills celebrated 400 years in production in 2008. A huge occasion which saw the Bank of Ireland print pictures of the distillery on its bank notes! The late 2000’s have seen famous names from stage, screen, music, art and design come on board to spread the word about this historic whiskey. Culiminating in 2012 with a once off live performance in the Old Bushmills Distillery which hosted ‘Bushmills Live’, celebrating the art of whiskey making through music.