Bushmills Distillery - About

Bushmills Distillery in located in a small beautiful village called Bushmills, and as you may have guessed, is where the famous Irish whisky is made. The Distillery is a popular tourist attraction and claims to be the oldest in the world.

If you decide to visit Bushmills Distillery you will get a tour of the facility and learn and see about how the whiskey is made, distilled, and bottled. At the end of the tour, you will also have the chance to visit the gift shop, and if you’re old enough, try a free sample of the various products.

In 1608 Thomas Phillipps was granted a licence to distil in the area by King James I. However it was not until 1784 that Bushmills Old Distillery was established as a company by Hugh Anderson. In 1860 the distillery was bought by James McColgan and Patrick Corrigan and in 1880 they formed a limited company.

By 1890, Bushmills Whiskey travelled across water to America, and on to Singapore, Hong King, Shanghai and Yokohama.

Isaac Wolfson bought the distillery after the Second World War, and it was taken over by Irish Distillers in 1972. This meant that Irish Distillers controlled the production of all Irish whiskey at the time. In 1988 a French liquor group called Pernod Ricard bought the company, but it was then sold again to Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks company.