The Old Bushmills Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery in Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, established in 1784 and owned by Proximo Spirits. Bushmills Distillery uses water drawn from Saint Columb's Rill, which is a tributary of the River Bush. The distillery is a popular tourist attraction, with around 120,000 visitors per year. It produces the Bushmills brand of Irish whiskey.

The company that originally built the distillery was formed in 1784, although the date 1608 is printed on the label of the brand – referring to an earlier date when a royal licence was granted to a local landowner to distil whiskey in the area. After various periods of closure in its subsequent history, the distillery has been in approximately continuous operation since it was rebuilt after a fire in 1885.

History

thumb|240px|right|The distillery in [[County Antrim.]]

The area has a long tradition with distillation. According to one story, as far back as 1276, an early settler called Sir Robert Savage of Ards, before defeating the Irish in battle, fortified his troops with "a mighty drop of acqua vitae". In 1608, a licence was granted to Sir Thomas Phillips by King James I to distil whiskey.

<blockquote>for the next seven years, within the countie of Colrane, otherwise called O Cahanes countrey, or within the territorie called Rowte, in Co. Antrim, by himselfe or his servauntes, to make, drawe, and distil such and soe great quantities of aquavite, usquabagh and aqua composita, as he or his assignes shall thinke fitt; and the same to sell, vent, and dispose of to any persons, yeeldinge yerelie the somme 13s 4d&nbsp;...</blockquote>

The Bushmills Old Distillery Company itself was not established until 1784 by Hugh Anderson.

In November 2014 it was announced that Diageo had traded the Bushmills brand with Proximo Spirits in exchange for the 50% of the Don Julio brand of tequila that Diageo did not already own.

In April 2023, Bushmills opened its second distillery, the "Causeway Distillery".

Current whiskey range

thumb|240px|Bushmills whiskey range on display at the distillery

  • Bushmills Original – Irish whiskey blend sometimes called White Bush or Bushmills White Label. The grain whiskey is matured in American oak casks.
  • Black Bush – A blend with a significantly greater proportion of malt whiskey than the white label. It features malt whiskey aged in casks previously used for Spanish Oloroso sherry.

thumb|left|175px|The Bush 1608

  • Red Bush – Like the Black Bush, this is a blend with a higher proportion of malt whiskey than the standard bottling, but in contrast, the malt whiskey has been matured in ex-bourbon casks.
  • Bushmills 10-year single malt – Combines malt whiskeys aged at least 10 years in former Sherry and American bourbon casks.
  • Bushmills 12-year single malt – Malt whiskeys aged for at least 12 years in Spanish Oloroso sherry and American bourbon barrels are blended together before finishing in Marsala wine casks for 6 to 9 months.
  • Bushmills Distillery Reserve 12-year single malt – exclusively available at the Old Bushmills Distillery, this 12-year aged single malt is matured in oak casks for a rich, complex flavour with notes of sherry, dark chocolate and spices.
  • Bushmills 16-year single malt – Malt whiskeys aged at least 16 years in American bourbon barrels or Spanish Oloroso sherry butts are mixed together before finishing in Port wine pipes for about 9 months.
  • Bushmills 21-year single malt – A limited number of 21-year bottles are made each year. After 19 years in Oloroso Sherry and bourbon-seasoned casks the malt whiskeys are combined and followed by two years of finishing in Madeira wine casks.
  • Bushmills 1608: Originally released as a special 400th Anniversary whiskey; since 2009 it has been available only in the Whiskey Shop at the distillery and at duty-free shops.

Critical acclaim

Some Bushmills offerings have performed well at international spirit ratings competitions. In particular, its Black Bush Finest Blended Whiskey received double gold medals at the 2007 and 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competitions. It also received a well-above-average score of 93 from the Beverage Testing Institute in 2008 and 2011.