Global Spirits Innovators Proximo Open Doors to Causeway Distillery as part of ongoing £60M development

From giants to legends – Proximo and Bushmills Irish Whiskey look to the future of Irish single malt whiskey with ambition.
Steeped in heritage, passion, and the pursuit of perfection – Bushmills Irish Whiskey celebrates 415 years of whiskey craftsmanship.
Bold expansion – opening coincides with move into ultra-prestige single malt whiskey with new 25 and 30 Year Old Single Malt offerings.

Today, Bushmills Irish Whiskey from the world’s oldest licensed distillery, and its owner, global spirits giant Proximo, proudly celebrate 415 years of whiskey heritage with the opening of the new £37 million state-of-the-art Causeway Distillery.

The opening is part of Proximo’s £60 million investment in its Irish single malt distilling and ageing facility at Bushmills over the past five years. The 39,000 sq ft facility, situated on Ireland’s spectacular north coast, will blend high tech with ancient craft to double production at the Bushmills site and place Bushmills among the leading single malt whiskey producers globally.

With Bushmills’ single malts experiencing increasing demand across the globe, the key challenge in extending operations to the new distillery has been to maintain the brand’s essential taste and character. To achieve this, Bushmills has combined generations of knowledge and experience with the technical excellence of the new distillery and its processes. The new Causeway Distillery deploys the latest thermal technology, which reduces energy usage by 30%, and state-of-the-art distilling innovations that have boosted material consumption efficiency by up to 10%.

The distillery takes its name from the Giant’s Causeway, the legendary landmark just a stone’s throw away, which has inspired Bushmills’ whiskey-makers for centuries. The designers have sought to pay homage to this natural wonder on the distillery’s doorstep with a visually arresting structure made of local basalt and limestone, incorporating interlocking and geometric features.

Colum Egan, the master distiller at Bushmills, said the expansion marked the “start of an exciting new chapter.”

He went on to say: “We are obsessed with exceptional whiskeys – the ingredients, the processes, the wood, the ageing. Our second distillery represents a great step forward in ensuring generations to come will enjoy our renowned signature triple-distilled single malts alongside the innovations of the future.”

The investment in the Causeway Distillery marks Proximo’s unwavering commitment to accelerating the growth of the Bushmills portfolio, which saw depletions grow over 10% in 2022, passing one million case sales for the first time in its long legacy.

Gordon Dron, Managing Director EMEA APAC, Proximo, said, “This is a proud day for Bushmills and a major milestone since its acquisition by PROXIMO in 2015.

Dron went on to say, “Consistent with global premiumisation, we are witnessing high double-digit growth of our unique Bushmills Irish single malts in all key segments and across a number of exciting new markets. The Causeway Distillery will enable us to meet the demand of new single malt consumers and seize this fast-growing value opportunity worldwide in the next decade and beyond.”

To celebrate the opening of the new distillery, Bushmills introduces two high-end additions to its range of products – a 25 Year Old and 30 Year Old Single Malt. With the 30 Year Old set to retail at a top price of $2,200 a bottle, the company describes the launch as a “bold entry into the ultra-prestige” market.

Tags: £60M developmentCauseway DistilleryGlobal Spirits InnovatorsProximo

Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.