The much-loved Salmon and Whiskey Festival has returned to Bushmills Village for a 3-day celebration, showcasing the fantastic array of food and drink the village and surrounding areas has to offer.
Visitors were treated to an array of locally sourced fayre with tasting events, cookery demos, live music and of course the world class welcome Causeway Coast and Glens is renowned for.
The weekend kicked off in style on Friday night with Gary Stewart of Tartine at The Distillers Arms offering his ‘Salmon & Whiskey Supper Club’ in conjunction with the Slemish Market Supper Club. 2024 was the first time this event had been added to the itinerary and tickets sold out fast!
Visitors also had an opportunity to sample some of the wonderful local produce throughout the long weekend at the Bushmills Visitor Information Centre, with the popular Bushmills Taste Trail back giving visitors the opportunity to let their taste buds guide them through the village while visiting each local business.
A host of local chefs had their incredible culinary skills on display, including displays from celebrity chef Paula McIntyre. Paula wowed audiences with her skilful cookery demos in Sharvagh House, Main Street Car Park and also the Courthouse Shared Space Creative Hub.
The newly refurbished Courthouse Shared Space Creative Hub on Main Street, Bushmills, was host to many other activities across the festival weekend from food demonstrations, kids’ workshops and food tastings in collaboration with Taste Causeway. This soft launch of the venue also gave visitors the chance to experience the newly opened Designerie retail space.
This year saw the welcome addition of a whiskey hub at Main Street Car Park. The hub showcased the Old Bushmills Distillery, Hinch Distillery, Shortcross Distillery and Dunluce Distillery and visitors had the choice of tasting each distilleries smooth whiskey blends.
The sounds of the live music greeted visitors throughout the village, with pop up gazebos at Main Street Car Park, Designerie Car Park, outside Sharvagh House and also at Market Square, providing a platform for exceptional local musical talent.
On Sunday Naturally North Coast & Glens Artisan Market took over Main Street with food, crafts, art and local producer stalls all contributing to the festival atmosphere.
Meanwhile over at Millennium Park children were delighted with the array of activities including have a go circus skills, bushcraft, plant and play roadshow, the crafty catcher fishing game and fly tying/casting demonstrations.
Deputy Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens, Councillor Tanya Stirling, who attended over the weekend said: “We are proud that our annual Salmon and Whiskey Festival shines a spotlight on food and drink excellence and provenance, here in the Borough.
“It brings together the artisan producers behind their products and highlights the heritage of Bushmills against the backdrop of the River Bush and of course the Old Bushmills Distillery. It gives the fantastic local businesses an opportunity to showcase what they offer to visitors and locals, and I’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in making this much-loved event a success for 2024 we very much look forward to next year’s event.”
The Bushmills Salmon and Whiskey event was part funded by DAERA supported by Bushmills local businesses, Taste Causeway, Naturally North Coast & Glens Artisan Market, and the Bushmills Distillery.
The Courthouse Shared Space Creative Hub project has been funded by the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme, which is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body. Match-funding has been provided by the Department for Communities, Northern Ireland, and the Department of Rural and Community Development, Ireland.
