Ireland, County Antrim. Distillery operational. Owner: Tequila Cuervo La Rojeña

Remaining until 2005 in the fold of the French company Pernod Ricard, which at the time had a monopoly on Irish whiskeys, Bushmills developed near to its southern counterpart Midleton and enjoyed a solid reputation among fans of Irish whiskey. A master of triple distillation, awarding it an inimitably fruity character, and carefully orchestrated maturation, in the late 1990s the distillery released a number of magnificent cask strength, single cask vintages (1988 Rum Barrel, 1991 Sherry Cask, 1990 Bourbon Barrel). The arrival of the new millennium led to the creation of a series of 1975 vintages entitled Millennium Malt. While its two successive owners, Diageo (2005-2014) and Cuervo (2014-present) have continued these bottlings, there have sadly been few innovative developments over recent years.

A special edition of Bushmills released in 2008 to mark the 400th anniversary of the granting of a licence to Sir Thomas Phillips to distil his uisce beatha (Gaelic for “water of life” and later “whiskey”) in Antrim, marking the start of Bushmills’’ history. This edition was produced with malted rather than unmalted barley, as well as crystal malt which brings added softness.