Bushmills celebrates duty anniversary

Diageo’s Irish whiskey brand is releasing a special edition, Bushmills 1608, to commemorate the year that the original licence to distil was issued in the region. The new expression launches in January, priced at £49 and bottles at 46% abv.

The move represents the first major brand development since it was acquired by Diageo in 2005. Since this time it has benefited from £6m investment in production and marketing. Production capacity was approximately 1.5m l when Diageo bought the facilities for £200m – but by next summer this will increase to 5m l. This month also marks the launch of the first advertising campaign implemented on a global basis.
The launch of 1608 comes at a great time for the category as a whole. “Irish whiskey is enjoying a real renaissance at the moment,” says global brand director Shivaun Lucey. “Bushmills is a sleeping giant about to be woken up.”

Ben Grant, 12/12/07