This is a view of the famous Bushmills River as it enters the sea.
The world's oldest licensed distillery is situated in Bushmills village,
with
a tributary of the Bush River, St.Columb's Rill running through it. It is
situated
south-west of the Giants Causeway with its famous basalt columns. The river
is full of trout and salmon.
Originally locally grown barley was used in the distillery (it
is now imported)
and local peat was used to fuel the kilns (peat is no longer used as fuel).
The distillery has been working since 1608, when landlord Sir Thomas
Phillips was granted a licence by James 1st of England, but records
show
whiskey was made here longer than that. Soldiers in the 13th century
recorded that they were much fortified by aqua vitae, "the water of life",
or in Irish "uisce beatha" from which the word "whiskey" is derived.
In 1974 Bushmills joined the Irish Distillers Group based in Midleton at
the
Jameson plant. Most whiskeys are made of blends but
Bushmills is made from a single malt and a single grain.
Visitors can see round the distillery with its old copper pots in
which
the mash is distilled three times and get to sample some of its
produce!
Note that Irish whiskey has an "e" to distinguish it from Scotch whisky.
Now you've read that maybe you need to have an Irish coffee!!
Irish coffee recipe. |
