Bushmills Distillery

Ireland

The Old Bushmills Distillery is situated in the town of Bushmills in the County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Bushmills is the world’s oldest licensed whisky distillery; in 1608 James 1 of England granted Sir Thomas Philips a licence to distil whiskey. Historical facts indicate that whiskey may have been produced in the region as early as 1276. Although they obtained the licence in 1608, the Old Bushmills Distillery did not become an officially registered company until 1784.

At the end of the 1700s Bushmills produced close to 50 000 litres of whiskey, most of which went to the US market and to the West Indies. The distillery even owned a ship, the SS Bushmills, which transported the sought-after whiskey across the Atlantic.

Although Bushmills is the world’s oldest licensed distillery, a closer look at the buildings reveals that significant changes have been made to the exterior since 1608. Most apparent are the striking pagoda roofs; the pagoda roof was designed in the late 1800s by the architect Charles Doig to improve the draught through the kiln. In fact, most of Bushmills old buildings were destroyed in a fire in 1885.

During the 1800s and the 1900s Bushmills managed to maintain a stable production although the distillery passed through numerous hands. In 1972 the distillery was included in the newly formed Irish Distillers Group which is currently owned by Pernod Richard. The Old Bushmills Distillery is a tourist magnet and has over 100 000 visitors every year.

A Selection of Bushmills

Online Shops

Bushmills

2005-07-05

TWE^*

Bushmills 10 år 40%

Bushmills 16 år 40 %

Bushmills 21 år 40%

Bushmills Single Cask

Bushmills Blach Bush

Bushmills Original

Short Fact: A typical Irish whiskey without smoke, triple-distilled as Irish tradition dictates which allows for a mild whiskey.

Character: Full bodied, sweet and nutty. Vanilla.

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Production at Bushmills

Bushmills use water from the St. Columb's Rill which flows close by the distillery. They exclusively use barley grown on Ireland. The malt is not smoked, which allows the natural taste of the barley to carry through to the finished product. The distillery has a large mash tun and ten washbacks made from stainless steel.

A total of nine stills are used; four wash stills of 16 000 litres each, and five spirit stills of 9 000 litres each. All stills are heated with internal steam coils. Since Bushmills practice triple distillation, the spirit from the final distillation has an alcohol content of 80 percent (!). The spirit is cut down with water to 63% before it is filled into used sherry, port and bourbon casks. Both storage and bottling is done on site.

Contact Bushmills

Old Bushmills Distillery,
2 Distillery Road, Bushmills,
County Antrim, BT57 8XH
Northern Ireland

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Phone: +44 28 20731521

Manager: David Quinn

Visitors: April - October (last tour 4pm each day), Monday to Saturday 9.30am - 5.30pm, Sunday 12 noon - 5.30pm. November – March: Monday to Friday 5 tours daily (10.30am, 11.30am, 1.30pm, 2.30pm, & 3.30pm), Saturday and Sunday 3 tours daily (1.30pm, 2.30pm & 3.30pm).

The visitor centre is closed on Good Friday, July 12th, Christmas & New Years holidays. Groups are encouraged to telephone in advance to arrange their visit: +44 (0)28 207 33218. There is an admission charge, and after the tour you may taste one of Bushmills bottlings. The distillery has its own restaurant and two fully stocked gift shops. In addition to the official bottlings, there are a few unique bottlings on sale that cannot be bought elsewhere.

Owner: Pernod Ricard through Irish Distillers Group

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