Named for the mills that produced the barley on the River Bush, the first Bushmills distillery dates back to the 1780s. However, a Royal
License was granted to a local landowner to distil whiskey in 1608 - thus legitimizing its claim to be the oldest legal distillery in the world. When Irish Distillers bought the distillery in 1972, it meant they controlled all the Irish whiskey production at that time. The distillery is now owned by Jose Cuervo.