Bushmills celebrates 400 years. Sort of.
Today's story is a guest piece by whisky-guy extraordinaire, Ian Buxton.
If you’ll excuse the lazy national stereotype, no-one loves a party more than the Irish - and what better excuse than a 400th anniversary?
I refer, of course, to Bushmills, which celebrates its 400th anniversary in April this year. Except, of course, there’s a fair bit of the blarney in there (“blarney” is Irish for “marketing” I think).
The claim’s based on the 1608 licence to distil granted to Sir Thomas Phillips by King James’ representative in Ireland, Sir Arthur Chichester, the so-called Lord Deputy. This allowed Sir Thomas or his servants (perish the thought he’d do any manual labour himself) “to make, drawe and distill such and soe great quantities of aquavite, usquabagh and aqua composita, as he or his assinges shall think fitt”.
Problem is, Sir Arthur was just a royal servant looking to cash in on this lucrative new territory by replacing the old Catholic gentry with good Protestants, loyal to the crown and willing to pay ready money for such licences – in fact, only the previous month, he had granted patents to distillers in Galway, Munster and Leinster.
But who’s counting? It really is a great excuse for a party and, after three years in Diageo’s ownership, the fact is there is plenty to celebrate. Since they took over from Pernod-Ricard there’s been steady investment, with around £6m ($12m) spent at the distillery, located just two miles from the famous Giant’s Causeway.
Production has been stepped up, so that the distillery now works round the week and, over the next year or so, output will rise to some 5 million LPA, compared to the less than 1.5 m LPA that Diageo inherited.
Bold stuff. And it’s matched by new marketing funds as well, with a new sponsorship of the Irish rugby team; new anniversary packaging; new advertising; a history of the distillery by a leading Irish whiskey writer and, best of all, at least one new product, though the distillery team hint at “more announcements scheduled for early in 2008”.
Right now, we can enjoy the special anniversary blend – the imaginatively named Bushmills 1608. Understandably, given history’s lower levels of productions, it’s a limited edition. Some 10,000 cases will be available worldwide during 2008, with the emphasis on “key markets” – presumably, the US will get the lion’s share. After that, supply will be restricted and 1608 will be pulled back to the distillery shop and selected travel retail outlets.
So get one fast if you’re interested. And, if you like Bushmills, you should be.
1608 is quite unusual. For one thing, it’s bottled at 46% and for another, unusually for a blend, it’s not chill-filtered. So hold the ice, America – this is one whiskey that you need to sip and savour.
The signature Bushmills nose is there but there’s a greater intensity and hints of chocolate, spice and vanilla. The initial impact is of sweetness, with toffee notes and dark caramel predominating. One taster likened it to milk chocolate liqueur.
According to Colum Egan, Bushmills’ ebullient Master Distiller, the difference is due to the crystal malt used in the original Bushmills malt used in this blend. “Crystal malt is named after the crystallised appearance which the barleycorns take when gently roasted before distilling,” he explains. “It lends a sweet, toffee-like smoothness to the final spirit.” I concur.
Where Bushmills Original, the cornerstone of the family, a blend of triple distilled malt whiskey with a lighter Irish grain whiskey is gentle with a rich, warming taste of fresh fruit, vanilla and honey, 1608 is that little bit fuller, darker and more rewarding. The blend uses around 90% Bushmills malt, finished mainly in sherry casks and the result is mouth-filling with a long and consistent finish.
It’s a great way to mark the anniversary. Tenuous though the link may be, who cares? This fine old distillery is once again producing at full blast, living up to its innovative tradition (Alfred Barnard wrote that it was “alive to all modern invention”) and exciting whiskey enthusiasts with some new tastes.
If you can, get over to Ireland in 2008. Already some 120,000 visitors take the Bushmills tour and Colum Egan promises a “rolling party” at the distillery. Somehow, I don’t feel there’s too much blarney in that.
About Ian Buxton
Ian is the brains behind The Whisky Channel, Whiskipedia, Classic Expressions, and the The World Whiskies Conference to name just a few things.
He also collects whisky books and memorabilia (though his wife wants him to stop).
Hi!
Do you have any idea what age 1608 is?
Like is it a 12 year, a 16 year or what?
Posted by: Norman Perry | March 04, 2008 at 02:23 PM