OF MONSTERS AND MEN AND BUSHMILLS™ IRISH WHISKEY – A VERY SPECIAL BLEND
Bushmills Master Distiller handcrafts exclusive single malt for Bushmills Live headliners ‘Of Monsters and Men,’ only six bottles exist
Bushmills Village, Northern Ireland, 17 July 2013: ‘A number one band needs a number one whiskey’ – so says Bushmills Irish Whiskey Master Distiller, Colum Egan.
With that in mind the whiskey craftsman has developed a signature blend for Bushmills Live headliners Of Monsters and Men. With chart-topping success for their single ‘Little Talks’ and debut album ‘My Head is an Animal’ in over twenty countries and given their love of Bushmills they were the ideal band to top the bill for the intimate two day whiskey and music festival at the Old Bushmills Distillery on Ireland’s North Coast.
To celebrate their achievements and visit to Bushmills, Master Distiller Colum Egan created a personalised ‘Of Monsters and Men’ blend of the Bushmills single malts for the Icelandic band. There are only six bottles of the special Of Monsters and Men blend in the world – one for each member of the band and one that will stay at the Old Bushmills Distillery for them to share with friends whenever they next visit.
“Like Of Monsters and Men, the Old Bushmills Distillery prides itself in handcraftsmanship”, said Colum Egan. “The Icelandic band’s craft is music and Bushmills’ is whiskey. The creation of the new liquid recognises the centuries-old qualities of making things by hand.”
Colum describes the commemorative blend: “Age is really important when making a great whiskey. Over time the wood influences the liquid resting inside it and creates amazing flavours that we use to make great whiskey. We wanted to use this theme of age to celebrate Of Monsters and Men as the headliners of Bushmills Live 2013.”
“It is classed as a 23 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey but has been blended with liquids drawn from sherry and bourbon barrels and first laid down in the years that the band members were born: 1987, 1989 and 1990. The whiskey also celebrates the three special years that Of Monsters and Men have been together as a band.”
The Old Bushmills Distillery’s Master Blender, Helen Mulholland, added: “With deep and full notes of vanilla and honey, mingled with rich warm dried fruit and finished with creamy chocolate undertones, the result is a Single Malt with an astounding depth of character.”
Of Monsters and Men headlined Bushmills Live alongside international stars such as breakthrough act of the year Jake Bugg, Willy Mason, Sons and Lovers, Bear’s Den, Foy Vance, Iain Archer and emerging artists David C Clements and VerseChorusVerse.
NOTES
Twitter: @BushmillsGlobal
Hashtag: #BushmillsLive
Tickets to Bushmills Live were not available for sale but were won via a competition on Facebook. To find out more, visit facebook.com/bushmills1608.
ABOUT COLUM EGAN, MASTER DISTILLER
Colum has been Master Distiller at Bushmills since April 2002 and he is responsible for producing around five million litres of Irish Whiskey each year across a portfolio of seven award-winning variants: Bushmills, Black Bush, Bushmills 10 year old Single Malt, Bushmills 16 Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 21 Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 1608 and Bushmills Irish Honey spirit drink.
ABOUT HELEN MULHOLLAND, MASTER BLENDER
Helen joined Bushmills some 16 years ago – so she qualifies as “an old hand” as Bushmills people like to say. She started her career in the laboratory and is now Master Blender. Wood is her specialty – or to be precise, the wooden casks that are critical in the maturation of Bushmills whiskies. It’s Helen’s job to select the best – so each year she travels to Spain and Portugal to assess the evolution of selected casks being seasoned with dark Oloroso Sherry or Tawny Port. She says it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. Helen lives not far from work, near Ballymoney in County Antrim.
ABOUT OF MONSTERS AND MEN
http://www.ofmonstersandmen.com/
Of Monsters and Men is an amiable group from Iceland whose debut album “My Head Is An Animal” is a collection of infectious folkie pop songs. With the group’s single “Little Talks”, the band (consisting of Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, Ragnar Þórhallsson, Brynjar Leifsson, Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, Kristján Páll Kristjánsson) has become a breakout act all around the world.
After a breakout year, “My Head Is An Animal,” the band’s debut album, was officially certified platinum worldwide. Surpassing 1 million sales, the record remains a clarion call for the band’s invigorating style. The band capped off the year with “Little Talks” selling over 3.5 million singles worldwide, the album reaching Platinum status in Canada and Ireland, as well as Gold in multiple countries including Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States.
In 2013, Of Monsters and Men will continue on a world tour including stops in Japan, Australia, South America, North America, and heading back to the UK and Europe this summer.
ABOUT JAKE BUGG
www.jakebugg.com
By now, it’s likely you will have heard of Jake Bugg following on from his support slots at two of the year’s hottest gigs: namely The Stone Roses’ miniscule secret London show at Village Underground, and a week later, Noel Gallagher’s smallest ever solo performance at Camden’s Dingwalls. Come October, the latter legend will also be taking him on the rest of his 2012 tour dates, in Europe, America and beyond.
All across the land he has been working hard, playing songs and garnering new converts wherever he goes. His headline November shows in Manchester and London have both been upgraded due to demand; the release of his debut album has been brought forward – unheard of in this day and age because people want to get their hands on it.
Aged “about 14”, he started picking up his uncle’s acoustic guitar and, having learnt other people’s songs, started experimenting with his own. It didn’t take long for him to start coming up with worthwhile stuff. In fact, one of the best songs on his debut album, ‘Someplace’ dates back to this time. A beautiful melancholic ballad, it exhibits the undeniable, natural gift for melody that characterises all of Jake’s songs.
Jake only got signed about a year or so ago, but such is his prolific nature that he did not waste any time in getting down to business.
ABOUT WILLY MASON
http://www.willymason.net/
Willy Mason is a singer-songwriter from the Northeast US. His new single ‘I Got Gold’ is a standout track from new album ‘Carry On’, an album five years in the making. It comes in the wake of the critically acclaimed and gold certified debut ‘Where The Humans Eat’ which included the now classic track ‘Oxygen,’ and the progressive sound of his 2007 sophomore release ‘If The Ocean Gets Rough.’
He has recently toured in the UK and Australia and often appears on stage with headliners and good friends Mumford & Sons.
Mason’s new single ‘I Got Gold’, produced by Dan Carey (MIA, Hot Chip and Kylie Minogue), has been receiving Radio 1, 6Music and XFM plays, and fuses Mason’s unique vocal delivery with a rhythm that lyrically draws on sentiments of hope, disillusionment, love and lost connections.
ABOUT BEAR’S DEN
http://www.musicglue.com/bearsdenmusic/
Bear’s Den are London trio Andrew Davie, Joey Haynes, and Kevin Jones. The music they make is wholesome, warm, and engaging, and takes its influence from the likes of Being There era Wilco, Ryan Adams, and a wealth of both folk and alt-country reference points.
The ethos of DIY is at the heart of everything Bear’s Den have done since their inception. Charging around the UK in a van playing to any venue that would have them, picking up support tours with the likes of Of Monsters And Men, Smoke Fairies, and Matt Corby, and concluding 2012 with a support slot for Mumford & Sons at London’s O2 Arena, Bear’s Den took time out and relocated to a cottage in Wales to record their debut EP, sold only at shows last year, and went on to record their ‘Agape’ EP in Norfolk with Kristoffer Harris.
‘Agape’ sets out its stall from the opening chords, and is a spellbinding example of Bear’s Den’s sound. Andrew Davie’s lyrics and voice are beautifully fragile, resonating with the clarity of a songwriter almost twice his age. Framed around the ambiguous Greek word for love, Agape is a warm, all-embracing tune that sets a tone throughout the whole five-track record.
ABOUT IAIN ARCHER
http://www.iainarcher.co.uk/modules/news/
Iain Archer is an award-winning songwriter and producer, originally from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. He is a versatile performer who has had success in his own right and with others. He has written five successful albums under his own name, has toured extensively and has had his songs used widely on US TV shows and adverts.
He has scored a number one album and two top ten albums writing with the likes of Example, Gabrielle Aplin, Hudson Taylor and Nina Nesbitt. Additionally 2012 saw Iain working extensively with 19 year old Brit-Nominated Jake Bugg, signed to Mercury Records. Jake Bugg’s exciting eponymous debut album hit no.1 in the album charts in October, and has remained within the top 10 ever since, already passing platinum sales. He co-wrote and produced the first three Radio 1 playlisted singles, ‘Trouble Town’, ‘Lightning Bolt’ and ‘Taste It’ along with co-writing Jake’s last two radio hits ‘Two Fingers’ and ‘Seen It All’.
A prestigious Ivor Novello Award winner for his work on Snow Patrol’s breakthrough multi-platinum selling album ‘Final Straw’, Iain co-wrote the huge hit ‘Run’ which went top 5 for the band and later to number one for Leona Lewis, breaking the record for the fastest selling UK download.
He is a founding member of the band ‘Tired Pony’ that also featured the likes of Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody, Peter Buck from REM, Richard Colburn from Belle and Sebastian and Tom Smith from Editors.
ABOUT FOY VANCE
http://www.foyvance.com/
Foy Vance is a musician from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. He released his debut album ‘Hope’ in July 2007 to great critical acclaim. The Independent newspaper described him as ‘The missing link between Richie Havens and Stevie Wonder’. Three tracks from the album were used on hit US drama, Grey’s Anatomy.
His single ‘Be the Song’, featured in the American medical series, House. In 2010 Foy, along with David Holmes composed the music for a short film by director Terry George, and as a result has been offered a part in the director’s next feature film as a busker. The short film, ‘The Shore’, won a 2012 ACADEMY AWARD. Foy will release a new album entitled ‘Joy of Nothing’ later this year and will tour with Bonnie Raitt in the UK and Europe this summer.
ABOUT SONS AND LOVERS
http://www.sons-and-lovers.com/
Sons and Lovers are a four piece who have recently completed a UK tour with Ellie Goulding, and have only been recording since early last year.
They played on the BBC Introducing Stage at Underground Festival last year and recently played at Club NME nights in London. They are quickly creating a buzz and a name for themselves.
Each track is a brilliant example of craftsmanship, with catchy guitar melodies and strong lyrical stature.
ABOUT DAVID C CLEMENTS
http://davidcclements.bandcamp.com/
David C Clements has been playing music throughout the UK and Europe for more than a decade. Although his current guise has only been implemented from the beginning of last year, he previously fronted up Belfast act, Six Star Hotel. With a series of European tours, and a few critically acclaimed albums, he knew it was time for a change. He first dabbled in producing records for local acts, such as the Lowly Knights and Napoleon, but we all knew he would not stay off the road for long.
David C Clements, as a musical project, was born on 1st January 2012. Throughout the opening few months of 2012 David released three two track EPs online which caused quite a stir throughout the industry, gaining him viral support from Two Door Cinema Club, a live session on BBC Radio One, a show at Union Chapel London, a Channel 4 advert, a Day Trotter session and a plethora of local radio support.
“David has the voice of a melancholy angel. He has a rare ear for melody and lyrics that hit right at the heart of the human condition.” – Paul McClean, BBC Radio Ulster.
ABOUT VERSECHORUSVERSE
http://soundcloud.com/vcvtony
VerseChorusVerse is the musical alias of Tony Wright, the founding member of ‘And So I Watch You From Afar’. He composed some of their most popular songs before leaving the band in late 2011.
After leaving the band, he darted quickly in the opposite direction, keen not to repeat himself stylistically. S
Since then he has been racking up the miles playing across the UK, Ireland and Spain along with artist approved supports of Daniel Johnston, William Elliot Whitmore, Michael Kiwanuka, Jonah Matranga and James Yorkston.
He recently finished recording his highly anticipated debut album with Ivor Novello winner Iain Archer, (Jake Bugg, Ben Francis Leftwich) and is due to release it this year with PledgeMusic as he seeks to fund the accompanying campaign for the album.
ABOUT BUSHMILLS IRISH WHISKEY
With a heritage rooted in authenticity and quality, Bushmills Irish Whiskey is produced, aged and bottled at Ireland’s oldest working Whiskey distillery in the village of Bushmills in County Antrim on the far north coast of Ireland. The Old Bushmills Distillery uses 100% malt barley to make triple distilled malt whiskey, which is what creates the rich, mellow and distinct flavour that is the house style. The Bushmills portfolio includes: Bushmills Irish Whiskey; Black Bush, Bushmills 10 Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 16 Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 21 Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 1608 and now Bushmills Irish Honey.
BUSHMILLS LIVE VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjyzNFGuRmo
To launch the festival, Bushmills commissioned some good friends who are artisans to make a 3D art installation that depicts the Bushmills Live poster using materials inspired by the handcrafted whiskey and music at the heart of the festival. The master craftsmen who cemented their friendship when creating the stage set for a hugely popular American television epic that was filmed in Belfast – used 254 casks, 250 bottle tops, 30 bottles of whiskey, five metres of AMP wiring and four guitars to handcraft the 10ft by 16ft installation artwork.
ABOUT DIAGEO
Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Windsor, Buchanan’s and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.
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