Bushmills master blender creates festival headliners’ blends

04 July, 2014
The 1975

Bushmills master blender Helen Mulholland has created two single malt whiskies for Bushmills Live headliners- The 1975 and Gary Lightbody’s group Tired Pony. 

The whiskies were inspired by the two bands that played at the third Bushmills festival at the Old Bushmills Distillery on Ireland’s north coast, June 12. 

To celebrate The 1975’s performance, Mulholland chose the casks from each of the years the band members were born - 1988, 1989 and 1990 - to create the six bottles of Bushmills 24 Year Old Single Malt- ‘The 1975’ Artist’s Reserve. 

Mulholland said: “This whiskey encompasses the core spirit of Bushmills Live – celebrating handcrafted whiskey and handcrafted music. 
 
“Each of the casks has a different finish: bourbon, sherry and wine, creating a wonderful combination of flavours. The liquid is full of the honeyed, warm tones typical of Bushmills, but with a spectacularly long finish that would perfectly complement ‘Chocolate’…or anything else for that matter!”

To celebrate Tired Pony’s visit to Bushmills, Mulholland created Single Malt Triple Distilled Tired Pony Artist’s Reserve blend of the Bushmills. Three types of bourbon casks contributed to the blend – each representing one of the three bands from which Tired Pony was formed: R.E.M, Snow Patrol and Belle & Sebastian.

Mulholland added: “U.S. Bourbon casks traditionally give deeply rich, honeyed tones. I decided to use these not only because they reference the Americana style of music that Tired Pony play, but also because it recognises the location where their first two albums were recorded.

“It was crafted with a touch of whiskey drawn from port-finished casks, laid down in 2009 – which was also the year that the band formed. The result is a whiskey full of vibrant layers, which we hope will inspire future recordings.”

Only ten bottles of the Tired Pony blend were made- one for each member of the band, the guest musicians who played at the festival and one will remain at the Distillery. 
  

Tired Pony




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