Fancy a unique guitar crafted from whiskey barrels & copper stills this Father’s Day? – words Alexa Wang
Whiskey has had a long and illustrious relationship with music. The number of songs that feature the unique spirit are too many too mention but The Doors Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) springs immediately to mind.
The lyrics “Well, show me the way to the next whiskey bar…” bring back fond memories of many a misspent youth. The famous Whiskey a Go Go was of course a favourite haunt of the band and featured in many of their songs. As Father’s Day approaches I’m sure there are dads up and down the country looking forward to a drop of the good stuff this weekend.
Well now Bushmills Irish Whiskey are continuing in that vein with a unique partnership with Lowden Guitars. Lowden are one of the world’s finest makers of acoustic guitars. These guitars are cherished instruments for some of the world’s best-known musicians including Ed Sheeran.
The craftspeople at Lowden have produced a guitar made from the very material used to make the whiskey itself. It has been fashioned from barrel wood that has been used to mature Bushmills Irish Whiskey for centuries and the cooper is from the traditional copper stills used to triple distil Bushmills Irish single malt.
The respected Northern Irish singer songwriter Foy Vance also helped in the creation of the guitar. He brought his seasoned musician’s insight to help produce a guitar of unique richness and heritage that’s been named the Bushmills x Lowden Black Bush Edition.
Speaking about the new Bushmills x Lowden Black Bush Edition Guitar, Foy Vance said: “I have been a fan of Bushmills and Lowden for a long time now and loved working on this unique collaboration. The guitar is a thing of beauty, so it only felt right getting some of my closest friends in music to help me debut it up at The Distillery.”
It is quite a guitar. The unique collaboration represents the craftsmanship and character that both Bushmills Irish Whiskey and Lowden Guitars are renowned for. Many dads across the UK would, I’m sure, like to get their hands on one but as only 25 have been made – each with a price tag of £9,800 – they might have to be content with socks again this Father’s Day.
After the acoustic guitar was unveiled for the first time Foy put the instrument through its paces at an intimate session in Warehouse No. 2 at The Old Bushmills Distillery with popular Irish band Beoga and poet Jon Plunkett (the full performances can be viewed at www.youtube.com/foyvancemusic).
To watch how Bushmills Irish Whiskey and Lowden Guitars worked together to make the latest Bushmills x Lowden Black Bush guitar, visit bit.ly/BushmillsxLowden2018. To watch Foy Vance’s performances visit www.youtube.com/foyvancemusic. To register your interest for the Bushmills x Lowden Black Bush Edition visit www.lowdenguitars.com/bushmillsxlowden.
Fancy a unique guitar crafted from whiskey barrels & copper stills this Father’s Day? – words Alexa Wang
