Whiskey from Bushmills takes the road to success in London

New Jersey-based Proximo Spirits, which owns The Sexton and also features the historic Old Bushmills whiskeys in its successful portfolio, has linked up with London’s developing fleet of all-electric black taxis in an exciting new marketing promotion for the whiskey.

Many of the distinctive cabs – there are more than 3,000 cruising the streets of the capital - are now carrying striking promotional graphics for The Sexton, among the biggest selling Irish malt whiskeys in the huge US marketplace.

The promotion represents a substantial investment by the impressive and experienced Proximo team to boost sales of The Sexton in Great Britain, a

strategically important market for spirits and one with significant scope for the single malt whiskey.

The Sexton is an Irish single malt whiskey, triple distilled at Bushmills and aged exclusively in Oloroso sherry casks and then produced in unique hexagonal shaped bottles that link the beverage to the Giant’s Causeway stones not far from the historic distillery.

The Sexton is produced for Proximo from whiskey distilled and matured at Bushmills, the world’s old’s oldest licensed distillery. Bushmills has also become one of Northern Ireland’s best known drink products and most recognizable brands.

The latest promotion for Irish whiskey by Proximo, one of the world’s leading distributors of spirits, began ahead of the annual Belfast Whiskey Week, Ireland’s largest whiskey festival, which launched last night and runs to Saturday, July 30. 

The popular event features more than 100 events, spanning nine days in partnership with 14 venues city wide and delivering sessions with over 40 brands and distilleries.

This year’s programme includes heritage walking tours, music, talks, food pairing sessions and even a speed dating event.

The objective of the community-led initiative, which is driven by a group of enthusiasts from Belfast Whiskey Club led by businessman Paul Kane, is to help reclaim the city’s whiskey heritage, celebrate its distilling history as well as look forward to the exciting innovations and growth within the region.

Proximo has been making a huge contribution to the marketing and especially the export of whiskeys from Old Bushmills and The Sexton in NI in terms of sales and especially innovative product developments since it became involved with the historic Co Antrim distillery in November 2014 for tequila giant Jose Cuervo of Mexico.

The Sexton whiskey was created by master distiller Alex Thomas at Bushmills for Proximo and launched in the US in 2018. Alex, originally from Ballymoney and now based in Coleraine, is also master distiller for Old Bushmills.

The Sexton has also been supported by the international distributor through other sponsorships including a collaboration with The Walking Dead, among the most popular shows on US television.

The horror series named Sexton Single Malt as its official whiskey, the first NI spirit involved in such a promotional activity to grow its business in the world’s most important market for Irish whiskey.

Around six million casks of many Irish whiskeys were sold in the US last year, leading to projections that sales of Irish will overtake Scotch by 2030. The standard Bushmills and Black Bush are among the top ten best-selling whiskeys in the US.

Lander Otegui, senior vice-president of marketing for Proximo Spirits, explained: “The Sexton Single Malt and The Walking Dead share a fan base that values a life well lived. Our motto, ‘You have a single life. Drink a single malt’ encapsulates that spirit.”

Proximo has, in addition, promoted Old Bushmills whiskeys extensively in key global markets such as the US and UK through a series of sponsorships including a collaboration with the hugely successful Peaky Blinders gangster TV series that featured a limited edition bottle of Bushmills dating back to the prohibition era.

The Sexton Single Malt Irish whiskey, which is produced at Bushmills in Co Antrim, is now highly rated in the US, long the most important market for golden spirits. The whiskey is set to grow even faster in this market in the years ahead.

Alex learned her craft at Old Bushmills under the expert mentoring of master distiller Colum Egan and Helen Mulholland, the master blender, before being chosen by Proximo to create a new Irish single malt aimed initially at the strategically important US marketplace.

“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,” Alex explains.

The name Sexton appropriately means custodian of sacred objects, or more simply put, the caretaker of precious things…..like Irish single malt whiskey from Bushmills!