From royal license to the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world
The history of the Old Bushmills Distillery begins on April 20, 1608, when King James I granted Sir Thomas Phillips the license to distill whiskey in the region around the River Bush in County Antrim. Distilling had of course been going on in the area for longer — partly illegally, partly in secret. The formal founding of the distillery as a company took place in 1784 by Hugh Anderson; the current building has been in almost continuous production since its reconstruction after a devastating fire in November 1885. Since then, every bottle has carried the year 1608 on the label — as a reference to that royal origin. Today, Bushmills belongs to Proximo Spirits and is one of the best-known whiskey houses in Ireland worldwide, ranking third among the best-selling Irish whiskeys worldwide after Jameson and Tullamore D.E.W.
Copper stills, spring water and no peat: the craft of Bushmills
The water that shapes every Bushmills whiskey comes from Saint Columb's Rill, a tributary of the River Bush. It flows through volcanic bedrock — the same rock that formed the Giant's Causeway a few kilometers away — and has been considered a decisive quality factor for centuries. The distillation itself follows the Irish principle of triple distillation in traditional copper pot stills: three runs instead of two, as is common in Scotland, smooth out the distillate and emphasize the fruity, malty aromas without neutralizing them. It is also characteristic that Bushmills distills its single malt from 100% malted barley — and completely dispenses with peat. The barley is dried in fresh air, which excludes the smoky character of many Scottish malts from the outset and gives the Bushmills style its clear, clean aroma structure. In 2023, the distillery also opened the new Causeway Distillery, which doubles production capacity without changing anything about the inherited style.
Single malts with depth: an overview of the range
The heart of the range is the aged single malts — distilled exclusively at the Old Bushmills Distillery and matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks. The Bushmills 10 Year Old is the entry into the single malt line: an accessible yet characterful whiskey with aromas of honey, vanilla and ripe fruit, which is best enjoyed at around 8–10 °C — neat, with a stone or alongside a mild cheese. The Bushmills 16 Year Old adds another layer of complexity: the maturation period in bourbon, sherry and port wine casks brings dark dried fruits, walnut and a hint of dark chocolate into the glass. Both expressions show what triple distillation without peat can achieve: whiskeys with distinct character that lack neither masculine power nor any kind of mellowness.
