Insights from Bushmills' Master Blender on their career in whiskey, the role of cocktails, and what makes Bushmills special

Bushmills is the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world, having been around for a jaw-dropping 400 years and is an impressive place to visit. Set near the rugged landscape of the northern coast of Ireland, Shortlist headed over to the Bushmills’ distillery to join in on the celebrations of the recently released Secrets of the River Bush.

This 46-year-old Irish single malt whiskey is the oldest of its kind and as rare as it is special, thanks to only 300 in existence… or maybe fewer now, depending on whether anyone lucky enough to grab a bottle found it a bit too moreish.

To understand a little more about the whiskey making craft, we sat down with Alex Thomas, Bushmills’ Master Blender. Alex is responsible for deciding when to crack open a cask and share what’s inside, ensuring it tastes up to the standards set by those before her, while also exploring the future of Irish whiskey, how the category can continue to evolve, and paving the way for the next generation of Bushmills.

We discussed everything from what makes Bushmills the distillery it is, what to look for when trying whiskey for the first time and even why cocktails are so crucial in modern whiskey drinking — you can read our full interview with Alex below...

Becoming a Master Blender

If you want to pursue your dreams and passions, Alex is a great example of achieving that and making the most of it once you do. But sometimes it takes a little bit of rivalry close to home to get things going.

"My husband came home and told me about this position at the distillery," said Alex about her way into Bushmills. "I grew up on the north coast, I've always dreamt of working in the Distillery, and he had already worked there, and I was raging that he had got there first."

Alex reminisced about initially joining the maturation team: "Literally, my first job was labelling 50ml samples, hundreds of them. I got to smell them, I got to look at the colours, and I was just so fascinated by it all. I don't know what it was that they saw in me."

It’s here that she also learnt about the distillery's values and ideals, and how, despite times changing, the Bushmills distillation process remained the same after all these years — this is what hooked her in.

"I knew that was where I wanted to be. They gave me the privilege of going out to do my General Certificate in distilling in 2008, and that confirmed everything I thought I already knew.

"I wanted this to be my career. I went on to do my General Certificate in distilling and I qualified on Independence Day in 2012, to have the opportunity 20/30/40 years down the line to become Master Blender. I never dreamed it would come my way earlier than that."

In November 2021, four years after creating Sexton, a sister brand to Bushmills — and a Shortlist favourite — Alex was offered the opportunity to become the Master Blender for Bushmills. She said they had to pick her up multiple times after she was “absolutely blown away by the fact they believed in me”.

Why is Bushmills so special?

One thing that was hard to shake while chatting with Alex was just how passionate she was about the distillery and her work.

It was the same for everyone we were lucky enough to meet who also worked there, with Alex going as far as saying she would “sleep in the distillery” if they would let her. When asked what makes it so special, this is what she had to say:

“There's something about that place that is so magical. I keep saying, I don't know if it's the angel share [whiskey that is lost to evaporation during the distilling process] that seeps into you when you work there, but everybody feels it. You can see the care they take with that building; all the processes, everybody gives 110% – Bushmills is about the people.”

As part of discussing why Bushmills is so adored, we also spoke about how this culture has been cultivated over the years. Once again, she credited it to the people, but instead of those present, she credited those who came before, saying, “We have a part of a tradition, part of a legacy that we’re taking on. So you feel responsible to those who took the time to care for you.

“I believe with all my heart that's why Bushmills is still here, where others have floundered, because the people feel like they own the distillery, and they're given that freedom to do that, so they go way beyond what they have to do in the day, and our new distillery is a perfect example of that. I think that’s what makes Bushmills so special. It's that passion that's in every one of us.”

Drinking whiskey for beginners

For anyone who isn’t a big whiskey drinker or would love to get into it but finds it intimidating (which is more than fair), Alex also offered some insight and advice for those who want to give it a try.

The main piece of advice from Alex is to simply open your mind and be open to what you can taste, stating, “It's your personal story.” She went on to add, “Your eyes can deceive you in so many things. So close them. Open yourself up to experiment, and don't be scared to say you don't like that whiskey today. But go back another day and try it again, because it depends on what you've eaten and what you have drunk before, it can affect what you taste.”

What felt surprising during this chat, but was also lovely to see, was the openness and desire to get people into whiskey, regardless of their background, with Alex herself drawing plenty of inspiration from mixologists and cocktail makers who use whiskey right now.

Even with Bushmills’ collection, she spoke of her excitement to see what mixologists might do.

“I am delighted to see their take on one of our whiskeys and transform it into something else because that's what a Blender is," said Alex. The creation they do helps people on their whiskey journey. It's nice to see that they can put an absinthe in a whiskey, put vermouth in, or add another type of sherry to create something unique.”

She went on to describe everyone’s journey into whiskey as different, and cocktails are a great in. “It's what’s right for the individual, and I think that's what's helping the category grow.” Before bringing it back to the legacy of Bushmills, “We follow in the footsteps of the generations before, but we also want to make our own path.”

It’s no doubt an exciting time to be a whiskey drinker, especially if Irish whiskey is your thing, and despite now being hundreds of years old, if Alex is to be believed, it feels like Bushmills is just getting started.

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Main image credit: Bushmills