The Old Bushmills Distillery is one of the oldest whiskey distilleries in the world, located on the rugged north coast of Northern Ireland. It has a long and storied history, dating back to 1608.
The Old Bushmills Distillery produces a range of whiskies, including blends and single malts. Some of their popular products include Bushmills Original, Bushmills Black Bush, and various aged single malts.
So it is with this general knowledge that I dandered up to the Bushmills Distillery (actually, booked my ticket in advance) as a not-so-ardent-fan-and-non-drinker of whiskey, with a few friends for a tour of the premises and to find out more about the whiskey making process and in particular this most famous of brands.
Table of Contents
Bushmills Distillery Tour choices
First up, there are three flavours of tour available at the Bushmills Distillery. At the time of writing there is the general walking tour, the Premium Tour and Tasting, and the Distillery Tour and Three Malt Tasting option.
Each one will suit different levels of whiskey enthusiast… and depth of pockets! For our party it was the standard walking tour. All the up to date tour offerings are available on the Bushmills Distillery web site.
We paid £15 each for our tour that lasted about an hour and had an informative guide to show us all the different parts areas of the working distillery. Our tour came with a choice of whiskey at the end – more on that later.
I can’t speak for the other two types of tour on offer – I’ve never done those – so please keep in mind this review is for the standard walking tour.
I imagine they would be quite similar in terms of seeing the Bushmills Distillery with different drinks on offer after the premises tour. Leave me a comment below if you have done the more expensive tours and I need to be corrected!
Arrival at the Old Bushmills Distillery
Bushmills is a very historic town (a link to Bushmills review) and the distillery certainly plays it’s part in the rich history of the town. On arrival the old building looms alongside a second, newer building recently erected to boost production on the site. I don’t want to spoil the tour so I won’t go into too much detail here.
Arriving on foot you cross through a large car-park and follow a path around the back of the front buildings to the gift shop entrance.
The footprint of the premises is large, to say the least. The gift shop represents the gateway to the whole Bushmills Distillery experience.
Waiting for the tour
The friendly lady took our booking for which we were about 20 minutes early. We had time to peruse the Bushmills Distillery gift shop and take in beautiful displays in gorgeous lighting.
I was surprised by the number of products on offer and all the different variations on the whiskey produced in Bushmills. It was very relaxing to walk around the displays.
The tour leaves from the gift shop, but with the 1608 bar just next door, I took the opportunity to enjoy a Black Bush and ginger with a friend before the tour set off. More on the bar in just a little bit.
Walking the tour of the Old Bushmills Distillery
The tour took about 55 minutes for us. We paused along each step of the process and sucked in the aromas and fumes as we made our meandering way through the working distillery from the malting to the mashing to the distilling and onward. We got to hear about the whole life story of how the whiskey is made and how the different flavours come about.
Blending, casking, bottling, it’s all here for you to hear about. Unfortunately, there is no photography allowed. Bushmills Distillery is officially at risk of explosions, so phones are off and no cameras allowed!
The tour weaves inside and outside of the premises and along the way our guide, not only had a load of facts for us, but one or two anecdotal stories about his experiences and some interesting things that had gone down in the distillery over the years.
Walking through the Old Bushmills Distillery I felt steeped in history and really felt the richness of this historic town.
The old casks piled high in the warehouses and the alcohol in the air offered a real sense of warmth on a bitterly cold day. Indeed the Old Bushmills Distillery is one of the oldest distilleries in the world, with a history dating back to 1608 and in the knowledge that the whole process of grain to bottle happens here, it was a very impressive setup.
I’m no whiskey expert by any stretch but I loved that they source their grain for their whiskey here on this island of Ireland, the distillery draws it’s water from the River Bush which flows right through the site, and the casking and bottling happens here too. It’s amazing that it’s all so locally produced.
I didn’t find the tour strenuous, though there are a good number of steps to negotiate. Nobody was hurried, so don’t fret about taking your time getting around.
The 1608 Bar at Bushmills Distillery
The tour finishes in the 1608 bar and your chance to claim your drink offered as part of the Old Bushmills Distillery. Offered a choice from the 12 year, 10 year, Black Bush or straight up regular Bushmills whiskey, I elected for the 12 year old. It seemed the most prestigious!
Served in a nice glass, I certainly took my time sniffing and trying to pick out the flavours without the aid of tasting notes.
The bar itself was a very relaxing environment with plenty of comfortable seating, and quiet ambience and an old whiskey still as a focal point.
The 1608 bar is available for public access but closes relatively early. If you want to experience the bar without doing the full Bushmills Distillery tour, you can absolutely do that.
Conclusions
I enjoyed the Bushmills distillery tour. It moved along at a good pace without being rushed and our guide was friendly and personable. We got to see enough of the distillery to make it interesting, but not so intense that it would be boring. On this particular occasion the distillery wasn’t running in full operation so the smells were not quite as strong and not so noisy and atmospheric as it has been on previous visits I made.
I enjoyed sitting in the warm, welcoming bar afterwards talking to friends and the staff about whiskey. So much so, we ordered the sampler of the 12, 16 and 21 year malts, served on a nice tray with tasting notes!
The 16 year was my favourite with a sort of honey and marzipan taste. I understand everyone will get a slightly different tasting experience based on what they have eaten recently and on their individual palate.
The Bushmills distillery bar staff are really passionate guys and will help you find the right whiskey for you if you are looking to indulge in the local produce.
Every product is different with much to savour so don’t be shy in trying more than one!