Driving via the city of Bushmills, one factor particularly stayed with me. From the model’s signature drops, proudly displayed behind lock and key in glass cupboards in native pubs and bars, to classic posters, coasters, and previous tin indicators adorning the partitions, I used to be struck by how a lot the revered Previous Bushmills Distillery had touched each a part of this small city in Northern Eire.
“With out the village, there could be no whiskey, and with out the whiskey, there could be no village.”
Because the oldest working whiskey distillery on this planet, Bushmills’ world status has put this space on the map. Every year, a whole bunch of hundreds of vacationers from all around the world make the pilgrimage to the picturesque coast of Northern Eire to expertise Bushmills for themselves; to witness the distinctive setting that has turn out to be so well-known for influencing every of Bushmills’ ultra-premium drops all through its 400-year historical past.
I used to be lucky sufficient to be invited to affix the world’s whiskey fans to expertise the area for myself. After all, the historic Previous Bushmills Distillery was a formidable spotlight, however notable mentions should embrace The Large’s Causeway and its magical origins, in addition to the picturesque Royal Portrush Golf Membership.
However why was I chosen for this expertise? How can DMARGE readers get entangled? Nicely, our mates at Bushmills Irish Whiskey are providing an unique alternative for 2 fortunate DMARGE readers to win this precise journey.
Associated Tales
Competitors winners will expertise all that Northern Eire has to supply, with unique entry to the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery and the notorious Large’s Causeway, and an unforgettable likelihood to play at Royal Port Rush Golf Membership simply months earlier than it welcomes the world’s finest golfers for the 2025 British Open.
In addition to return financial system flights, transfers and three nights’ lodging, competitors winners will probably be handed $2,000 AUD spending cash. It’s a very once-in-a-lifetime alternative to attach with the enduring legacy of Bushmills and the pure great thing about Northern Eire.
The Previous Bushmills Distillery
The very first thing you discover getting into the grounds of the Previous Bushmills Distillery in Northern Eire is the warming odor of toasted malt and barley.
For greater than 400 years, this small city has been the house to one of many world’s finest whiskeys. It’s a mirrored image of the age-old traditions which have been meticulously preserved in Bushmills and OBD, because it’s affectionately recognized across the city.
Because the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery, Bushmills has been a pioneer within the business since its founding in 1608. Utilizing 100% malted barley in every of their most celebrated releases, this iconic model has frequently set the benchmark for Single Malt Whiskey. Bushmills is a single malt Irish whiskey and lays declare to being the pioneer of clean single malt.
The distillery’s distinctive setting alongside the River Bush (to which this city owes its identify), infuses each one in all Bushmills’ distinctive drams with the essence of its setting. Along with the Royal Portrush Golf Membership, one other historic gem of Northern Eire’s dramatic shoreline, these two esteemed areas provide guests a profound cultural expertise anchored on this enchanting area.
However earlier than I used to be capable of immerse myself within the Irish {golfing} traditions, I used to be lucky sufficient to be proven across the Previous Bushmills Distillery by one of many passionate guides, and instantly I felt immersed within the heritage, custom and the individuals who make Bushmills Irish Whiskey so distinctive.
We began, as all good excursions do, within the bar, sampling the Bushmills’ personal scorching toddy earlier than being escorted across the grounds, via to the top-secret room stuffed with the unique kilns used to toast the malted barley (though they’ve since been retired for extra fashionable equipment within the distillery’s new location).
We then moved via the distillation space, the place the whiskey is produced in spectacular copper stills that rise from the ground to the roof of the historic constructing. They repeat this course of 3 times to supply Bushmills’ signature Triple Distilled whiskey, like their traditional 10-12 months-Previous launch, and to attain the right Bushmills flavour that has turn out to be legend around the globe.
A brief stroll from the previous constructing sits the most recent jewel in Bushmills’ historic crown: a cutting-edge facility that blends fashionable expertise with the storied traditions of Bushmills.
The newly opened Causeway Distillery has earned its identify from The Large’s Causeway: a UNESCO World Heritage Website and a must-visit for any Northern Eire journey. For hundreds of years, this spectacular pure panorama, only a stone’s throw from the towering gates of the Previous Bushmills Distillery, has impressed and excited Bushmills blenders, providing a guiding hand that has influenced every of the model’s most celebrated collections.
“If we consider the Large’s Causeway, proper on our doorstep and the affect that the panorama has had on the grasp blenders and distillers over the generations, it’s within the coronary heart of our spirit and our whiskey,” Alex Thomas, Bushmills Grasp Blender instructed DMARGE.
To have a good time the distillery’s wealthy connection to the encompassing panorama, Bushmills launched The Causeway Assortment: a collection of ultra-rare drams which have been aged for an unprecedented period of time, paying homage to the nice weather-beaten hexagonal basalt columns which have stood for millennia.
Overseeing this enlargement is Bushmills’ Grasp Blender Alex Thomas, who was appointed to the place in 2021. Thomas was born simply quarter-hour from the distillery and has been a part of the Bushmills household for greater than 20 years. Once we sat down, Alex jokingly instructed me that when she first arrived at these iconic gates, she mentioned she would have taken any position to start her journey with Bushmills. And nicely, the remainder, as they are saying, is historical past.
“We need to be right here for an additional 400 years.”
Alex Thomas, Bushmills Grasp Blender
“As a grasp blender, my job is to innovate,” Alex Thomas continued. “To think about the longer term and the way I can develop the Bushmills household of whiskey lovers. So by bringing new folks in – by creating totally different cask profiles – we’ll give them a brand new imaginative and prescient and a motive why they need to fall in love with Bushmills. All, while retaining these fantastic folks which have been following us for all these years.”
The tour concluded because it had begun, with a glass of Bushmills’ single malt in one of many distillery’s secret tasting rooms.
Years in the past, this room would have been used to toast barley earlier than the introduction of recent tools. Throughout our go to, it welcomed us in to proceed an unbelievable journey tasting every one in all Bushmills’ hottest releases: from everybody’s favorite 10-12 months-Previous expression, via Alex’s celebrated Causeway Assortment to Bushmills’ unforgettable 30-12 months-Previous Single Malt Whiskey.
Sitting within the coronary heart of this historic distillery and sampling whiskeys that had been ageing for over three many years, it was clear to see why Bushmills has earned the enduring title as The Pioneers of Clean Single Malt Whiskey. I might’ve stayed there all day, had they not closed up for the afternoon. Which was most likely for the very best, as the next morning, I used to be set to compete for the British Open.
Royal Portrush Golf Membership
The primary time I ever performed golf was, like most of us, standing on the driving vary, aimlessly working my method via the golf equipment. So, once I arrived in Northern Eire as a part of this unbelievable expertise with Bushmills, I wasn’t going to overlook the chance to work on my type on the world-renowned Royal Portrush Golf Membership.
Only a quick drive from the Previous Bushmills Distillery, this course is a real gem on this planet of golf. Recognized for its beautiful coastal views and difficult links-style course, Royal Portrush has earned a spot among the many most prestigious golf locations on this planet, welcoming a number of the best possible via its fabled doorways in pursuit of perfection. It was a pure cease, then, on this distinctive Bushmills Irish Whiskey journey.
Merely strolling via the clubhouse, previous the numerous trophies, championships and photographs of legendary golfers that line the partitions, the intertwined histories of the Royal Portrush Golf Membership and the Previous Bushmills Distillery turn out to be abundantly clear: each are woven within the cultural material of Northern Eire, making this area a highly-sought-after vacation spot for whiskey fans and golfers alike.
Although the British Open has been held away from Northern Eire for some 68 years, its 2019 return was a second to savour for Northern Eire, with native hero Shane Lowrey taking the championship win in entrance of an enthusiastic house crowd. Subsequent yr, this iconic membership will play host to the 153rd Open on 13 – 20 July 2025, drawing the very best golfers from around the globe… however first, it was my flip to step onto the golf green.
In true Irish type, we have been handled to sporadic bursts of rain, intermittently interrupted by superb sunshine. Because the skies cleared, the Irish solar beaming down, we exited out onto the manicured inexperienced to expertise the spectacular environment.
And now DMARGE readers can have the possibility to win this once-in-a-lifetime expertise, courtesy of Bushmills Irish Whiskey. From touring the famend Previous Bushmills Distillery, immersing your self within the time-honoured whiskey-making course of and sampling a number of the model’s signature drops, to teeing off in type on the Portrush Royal Golf Membership, Bushmills Irish Whiskey is providing the right alternative to discover the uncommon great thing about Northern Eire, don’t miss out!
