Bushmills To Get £30m Expansion

By Richard Thomas

Last year saw Jose Cuervo pick up Bushmills in a tequila-for-whiskey swap with British drinks giant Diageo, and now the Mexican tequila-makers are building on the acquisition with a £30m investment.

Cuervo filed a planning application late last week for an expansion of the distillery, located in Northern Ireland’s County Antrim. The £30m project will double the distillery’s production capacity and add 20 full-time jobs.

As if this major investment were not enough to signal Cuervo’s intention to push Bushmills and ride the prevailing Irish whiskey boom, their long-term plans promise more for Bushmills. Cuervo stated they foresee spending an average of £3m in capital expenditures on the distillery every year for the next 10 to 15 years.