It can seem hard to believe that women played a role in the fame of Irish whiskey. But don’t be so shocked; as the saying goes: behind everything good there is a women. On a day like International Women's Day, it makes even more sense for the woman's role in Irish whiskey innovation to be mentioned. One such notable woman was Ellen Jane Corrigan whose husband was James McColgan the founder of Bushmills Distillery in 1860. After the event of his death his wife took over the business as it was left to her in his will. In this time it was uncommon for a woman to work let alone be a managing director of a whisky distillery. With her knack for good business ideas, she introduced electricity to the distillery and brought Irish whiskey to the international stage and the Distillery soon grew in size. One of her key ideas attributing to the fame of Bushmills and Irish whiskey was her purchasing of  steamship to deliver the product to the states. She was also a key figure to fight in the courts for a law cementing the Irish whiskey purity. . On this special day we propose a glass of the good drink and drink to the great forgotten woman.

Sláinte