2 March 2023 - Flipbook - Page 39
BUSINESS
The Sexton Single Malt
Irish whiskey is fast
becoming a hugely
successful export in
the vast US market.
SAM BUTLER talked
to master blender Alex
Thomson about the
unique product
39
RIGHT:
The
Sexton
Irish
whiskey
is growing
in the
important
US
market.
FW
INTERVIEW
FARMWEEK
JANUARY 28 2021
ABOVE: The distinctive shape of The Sexton
bottle has been influenced by the iconic
Giant’s Causeway.
LEFT:
The River
Bush near
Bushmills.
BELOW: The
Sexton whiskey
is proving to
be a winner in
the US.
BELOW: The County Antrim village of
Bushmills is home to Old Bushmills Irish
whiskey and The Sexton Irish Single Malt
whiskey.
ABOVE: Alex Thomas, Master Blender of The
Sexton Irish Single Malt Whiskey from County
Antrim.
Alex creates unique single malt whiskey
that’s proving to be a winner in the US
Irish whiskey is now
one of the fastestgrowing spirits
categories in the US,
according to drinks
market analyst
IWSR. Over the past
ve years, volume
sales of Irish
whiskey increased
at a 13.4 per cent
compound annual
growth rate.”
ABOVE: The distinctive
shape of The Sexton bottle
has been influenced by the
iconic Giant’s Causeway.
T
HE Sexton Single
Malt Irish whiskey,
which is produced at
Bushmills in County
Antrim, is now highly
rated in the US, long the most
important market for golden
spirits.
Sales of the unique whiskey,
the creation of master
blender Alex Thomson, are
set to grow even faster in this
market in the year ahead.
The whiskey continues the
rich and successful heritage
of distilling in Northern
Ireland and particularly in
Bushmills village and the
Bush river, which have been
associated with distilling
since the 17th century. The
rst commercial Bushmills
whiskey was launched in
1784.
Made from 100 per cent
Irish malted barley, The
Sexton is then triple distilled
in copper pot stills, a longstanding feature of Irish
whiskey and unlike Scotch,
which is double distilled.
The triple distilling provides
a richer avour and much
smoother taste.
The Sexton liquid is then
aged in Spanish Oloroso
sherry casks, imparting a
rich and fruity character. It
was named among the best
Irish whiskeys in the US last
year.
The casks are carefully
selected by Alex Thomson
for maturing the spirit and
the creation of a distinctive
avour. The whiskey comes
in a very eye-catching
hexagonal bottle, too,
reecting its production
close to the iconic Giant’s
Causeway.
The whiskey is owned and
LEFT: The Sexton Single Malt
Irish whiskey produced by
Bushmills in County Antrim.
distributed worldwide by
New York’s Proximo Spirits, a
division of Cuervo of Mexico,
the market leader in tequila,
which is also the parent
company of Bushmills.
Irish whiskey is now
one of the fastest-growing
spirits categories in the US,
according to drinks market
analyst IWSR. Over the past
ve years, volume sales of
Irish whiskey increased at
a 13.4 per cent compound
annual growth rate. IWSR
forecasts the category will
continue to grow in the
coming years.
Nearly 4.9 million ninelitre cases of Irish whiskey
were sold in the US in 2019,
generating $1.1 billion in
revenues for distillers,
according to the Distilled
Spirits Council.
In the past 10 years,
the number of distilleries
operating on the island of
Ireland increased eight-fold.
These distilleries are
embracing historical styles
and leaning towards uniquely
Irish distilling techniques.
In 2010, there were only
four distilleries in Ireland,
including Old Bushmills,
producing and selling Irish
single malt and blended
whiskeys. By December 2019,
the number of operational
distilleries had increased
to 32, according to the Irish
Whiskey Association.
These include The Sexton,
Echlinville, producer of
the historic Dunville’s in
Kircubbin, and Rademon,
which had announced plans
to produce a single malt.
There are now around 15
either operating or planned
in Northern Ireland.
Among the most notable
of these are Hinch in
Ballynahinch, Killowen in
Rostrevor, Mourne Dew
in Warrenpoint and Matt
D’Arcy in Newry. This
remarkable renaissance has
been the dening story of
Irish whiskey over the past
decade.
Master blender Alex
Thomas, who was born near
Ballymoney, has already seen
the Sexton become among
the most successful whiskey
launches in the US.
She learned her craft at
Old Bushmills Distillery
under the expert mentoring
of master distiller Colum
Egan and Helen Mulholland,
the master blender, and is
deeply appreciative of the
knowledge and experience
they imparted.
“I learned a huge amount
about the craft of whiskey
distilling, its history and
traditions from Colum and
Helen during my time with
Old Bushmills,” Alex says.
“It’s a tremendous and
stimulating place to work. I
ABOVE: Alex Thomas, Master Blender, checking The Sexton
Irish Single Malt Whiskey.
love working there and get a
real buzz every time I enter
the complex,” she adds.
Alex honed her distilling
skills at Bushmills over
16 years and qualied as
a master blender in 2012
before being chosen by
Proximo Spirits to create a
new Irish single malt aimed
initially at the strategically
important US marketplace.
“It was a great honour to be
tasked by Proximo to create
a different single malt,” Alex
continues.
“My objective was to
develop a whiskey that
everyone could enjoy and
that paid homage to those
who came before us.
“In addition, my aim
was to produce a whiskey
that would represent the
changing face of Ireland –
capturing the heritage and
provenance of the past and
the optimism and creativity
of the future,” she explains.
Reviews from respected
whiskey reviewers indicate
that Alex has achieved her
objectives, especially in
terms of taste.
Tradition also underpins
the brand. “The name Sexton
means custodian of sacred
objects, or more simply put,
the caretaker of precious
things,” she explains.
“What better name for the
whiskey?”
The Sexton, distilled
in copper pot stills to a
recipe created by Alex, was
launched in 2017 and is now
being rolled out globally. It’s
a measure of the extent of
her meticulous control and
outstanding professionalism
that she even sourced the
barley from Irish growers.
She also knew the whiskey
had to stand out in a ercely
competitive market. “When I
started in the industry there
were only three Irish whiskey
distilleries. Now there are
over a dozen.
“I knew that the whiskey
had to be exceptional and
that the branding needed
to be bold and to make a
statement,” she adds.
She’s clearly succeeded in
both objectives.