Allister Brown, a 33-year engineer from Lisburn has been chosen to represent Northern Ireland in the international finals of a Bushmills Irish Whiskey® competition that has attracted the interest of tens of thousands of people around the globe.
Allister will be competing for his chance of glory in the ‘Make it at Bushmills’ finals later this month against eight other rivals from the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, the United States, South Africa, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Bulgaria. The overall winner will be announced on Thursday 26 August at an awards dinner in the village of Bushmills on Ireland’s stunning north coast.
The line-up for the finals was decided by votes, cast by members, of the public on Facebook, for the hundreds of contenders who originally entered the competition. Launched in the New York Stock Exchange on St Patrick’s Day, the competition offers a prize of a 30 day stay in Bushmills, a chance to be the first person ever from outside the distillery staff to create a new blend of one of the world’s best loved Irish whiskeys, a month’s luxury penthouse accommodation in Ireland and £5,000 spending money.
The overall winner will be selected following a two-day ‘Bushcamp’ later this month when contestants will face the Master’s Challenge – a test of skills set by Bushmills’ Colum Egan. The performance of the contenders will be judged by a panel that includes Irish rugby legend, Keith Wood, Joel Harrison, contributor for the world renowned Whisky magazine and Foy Vance, one of Ireland’s most respected singer-songwriters.
Congratulating the shortlisted contenders, Colum Egan said:
“Allister along with the other finalists has done a fantastic job to make it this far – he’s already won his place at Bushcamp. His character, sense of humour and passion for life are what inspired people to vote for him. I have no doubt these qualities will be tested at Bushcamp when all nine contenders attempt to prove to us they have what it takes to make it at Bushmills.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the interest Make it at Bushmills has generated and it’s been fantastic to see the competition talked about in blogs, magazines, newspapers and TV shows all around the world.
“The strong international interest in Bushmills is further reflected in the fact that since creating our first official Bushmills Global Facebook page earlier this year, it has attracted more than 30,000 fans, making it the world’s second biggest Irish Whiskey Facebook site,” adds Colum.
The finalists’ progress at Bushcamp will be charted on-line from 25-26 August at the Bushmills Facebook page – facebook.com/bushmills1608.
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