Big Interview: Alex Thomas on the 'honour' of being Bushmills' master blender

"I come into the distillery really early in the morning. To go to a warehouse, when the dew’s on the ground and the first thing you get is the wonderful aromas of whiskey is amazing. My palate is clear. I haven't had any tea, coffee, any of that sort of stuff first thing, so I get to taste the pure liquid as it's meant to be tasted.”

Alex, 49, grew up in the historic village of Articlave, and now lives in Coleraine, describing herself as “very much a local Causeway Coast girl”, who loves walking her two dogs on the local beaches.

“I am one of five girls. I think my parents might have wanted a son because we've all got boys names,” she laughs, adding her name has also tricked a few people.

"Sometimes at whiskey festivals I hear people say, ‘Oh this guy Alex Thomas has made a really good whiskey here’. Then I’ll walk over and they’ll ask, ‘what’s your name?’, and I’ll say, ‘Oh, I’m Alex Thomas, nice to meet you,” she laughs.

After leaving Technical College in Coleraine, Alex set her sights on working at Bushmills, where her husband Steven, whom she met when they were 16, already worked.

“His love of the distillery was so infectious, he absolutely loved the place. I didn't mind what role I had I just wanted an opportunity to come to work at Bushmills too and I literally fell in love with the place.”

Alex joined the 400-year-old company in 2004 as an admin clerk within the maturation department –‘maturation’ refers to the process of leaving a spirit in a cask for a certain period to extract flavour and colour and age.

"I love maturation, for me it's where the magic happens - you take a clear liquid and you transform it into something really beautiful in colour and aroma. A distiller works with the barley, the water and produce the distollate. Colum Egan is our master distiller here and I'm very proud to say he has been my mentor for the last 20 years. I have learned so many things from him. Together we work to ensure that every spirit we create, every cask that we end up bottling, that the history and heritage of Bushmills has stayed true.”

Alex was appointed to the role of master blender in November 2021. A master blender generally has two primary responsibilities, to make sure every batch produced under the same label tastes the same as previous batches, and to create new appealing blends that deliberately differ from existing labels.

“I still can't believe that I got the honour to take on the mantle of being the caretaker of this amazing brand that has been around for over 400 years.

"I'm in charge of all of the casks within the warehouses and ensuring that they're cared for and nurtured the way they should be. We have over 500,000 casks here at the moment and I get to know each one of them personally.

"It's really nice to be able to watch a cask transform. It's almost like having a baby and watching it grow and mature into its own individual person. Casks are exactly the same, they’re a living breathing entity that passes beautiful flavour as it breathes in and out. All those colours and aromas all become alive over the time they're there and I get to decide when that's ready for people to enjoy. It’s a very proud moment to be able to pick that.”

So, does she actually get to taste whiskey every day?

"It’s an absolutely terrible job,” she laughs. “I get to walk through warehouses every day and taste and smell wonderful whiskies that have been laid down for many generations even before I'd been born and experience those wonderful liquids.

“I don't have to test every single one of them, but I do get to experience some of those really rare and wonderful ones you can't not take a little sip of, but the majority of what I do is through the sense of smell. I've been blessed with a wonderful palette that I can pick up all of those variations and flavour profiles through the sensory palette.”

Alex, who has lost her hearing in her left ear, says this has heightened her other senses.

"I feel I've been very lucky in life in some ways too because I believe that my senses have heightened as my hearing has deteriorated. It's true what they say your palate changes as you grow older, mine has become more delicate and much more able to pick up flavour profiles as my hearing got worse over the years. I definitely pick up much more of the delicate aromas, the different notes that each whiskey and each cask can offer.”

Alex gets to travel the world as an ambassador for Bushmills, attending trade fairs and selecting casks, she also has the privilege of releasing some very old and rare and expensive whiskies.

One of those was the exclusive 36-Year-Old Bushmills Hill Street Edition (costing £5,000 a bottle), created exclusively for Belfast’s famous whiskey shop and museum, The Friend at Hand.

With just 208 bottles available, the whiskey pays homage to Hill Street – once home to the Bushmills headquarters, and where The Friend at Hand stands today.

“What a proud moment to take the whiskey back to Hill Street in Belfast where it used to be rolled down the cobbles was such a phenomenal moment. It's a very rare whiskey and obviously it's very small quantities so each year the cask breathes in and out you lose a minimum of two per cent, the angels share,” says Alex.

The angel's share refers to when some of the whiskey evaporates every year during ageing. It releases into the air, where, according to legend, the angels drink their share of the whiskey

“The angels work their magic while the liquid’s in the cask, so we always have to give them a little, but it's really nice that they've left us a small amount here that we all get to taste.”

Bushmills also launched 40 bottles of 44-year-old in Dubai last year, with a bottle costing $12,000

“It’s amazing to see how many people have actually travelled the world to get these. There’s been a couple of gentlemen fly over especially from America just to be able to buy these bottle and take them home because the love Bushmills so much.

“Obviously to be the master blender that gets to release the oldest whiskey we've ever had in to Dubai and our oldest in to Europe is an absolute dream come true.”

So does Alex have a favourite Bushmills whiskey?

“I think if you ask any of the Bushmills staff, the 16-year-old is going to come out a firm favourite.

“Every party or get together we have it comes out. I personally absolutely love it. It’s a three-wood, bourbon and sherry first and then finished in a wonderful port cask for six to nine months, even up to a year depending on the flavour profile. It just offers something really unique, It is so delicate, so fruity, that wonderful port sweetness is in there and it just offers you a really delightful whiskey."

There’s a new Bushmills whiskey coming soon, but for the moment Alex’ lips are sealed.

“It is very unique and will be part of our core range. I think people are due another little surprise from Bushmills, so definitely watch this space. It's a stunning whiskey.”

The company employs in the region of 130 people, who are, according to Alex, “like one big family”.

“When you find somewhere you love working you never work a day in your life. It's somewhere you want to go every day, you feel passionate about what you do and you give 150% in everything you do. That's the Bushmills family.”