About Bushmills Black Bush Irish Whiskey

The history of Bushmill’s a storied one, steeped in history. In 1608, King James I of England granted Sir Thomas Phillips — the governor of Bushmills, County Antrim in Northern Ireland — a license to distill on his territory. Even in those early years, before the Old Bushmills Distillery Company was officially established (Hugh Anderson did so in 1784, and registered the first-ever trademark for the pot still), historical accounts show that a great quantity of whiskey was produced there. And though several events — including a disastrous fire in 1885, as well as World War II — halted production at the Old Bushmills Distillery, the distillery determinedly fought on. Bushmills remains an icon in Irish Whiskey, its picturesque facilities are a popular tourist destination.

The United States was a very important market for Bushmills (as well as other Irish Whiskey producers) in the 20th century. In 1920 when Prohibition hit, the Irish Whiskey industry suffered a massive blow, that Bushmills resiliently managed to survive. This was largely due in part to Wilson Boyd -Bushmills’ director at the time- who (predicting the end of Prohibition) made the intsightful decision to rack up large stores of whiskey ready to export.

The distillery was purchased by Isaac Wolfson at the end of World War II. Then the Irish Whiskey industry dried to a trickle. Bushmills was one of only two distilleries in Ireland in 1972, until it was taken over by Irish Distillers. This gave Irish Distillers complete control of whiskey production in Ireland. In June 1988, Irish Distillers was bought by French liquor group Pernod Ricard, and then in June 2005, the distillery was bought by Diageo. Bushmills is now in the hands of Jose Cuervo, and celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2008.

Black Bush is a triple-distilled, malt blend of 80% malt whiskey to 20% grain whiskey. This Irish Whiskey is matured in for around 8-10 years in former Oloroso Sherry casks, with rich, smooth notes of fruit, this dram is full of character and history. Bottled at 40% ABV, the blend won the top prize in its category at the World Whiskies Awards.

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