About Us
Bua, pronounced Boo’ah, is the Gaelic Irish word for Win or Victory. Bua is not about a distillery, or an old Irish family name or a person or a place. Bua Irish whiskey is an underdog’s whiskey and we say to all of you who are striving towards something, fighting for something or working on a dream…You are our idols! We tip our hat to you, the small guys and gals, the hard workers, the never-give-uppers.
Just like the intrepid tortoise in Aesop’s fable, we at Bua embrace our smallness and our underdog resilience in this big world of Irish Whiskey. We have strived to bring you a genuine Irish whiskey with a true depth of flavour, an unapologetically rich nose and a lasting finish. Inspired by the spirit of our founders, Bua is strong in character, smooth in delivery, approachable by nature and lively in presence.
Meet Our People
Martin Kennedy, Founder
Pat Byrne, Founder
Born to first generation Irish parents in Columbus, OH, USA, Pat has always been very aware and very proud of his Irish’ness, right down to his head of Irish red hair! So moulded by his Irish’ness in fact, he accomplished the most Irish of dreams and opened a thriving pub with two of his brothers in 1995.
Byrne’s pub, in Columbus OH, soon became known as the “where the Irish meet” and is still a common stop on the traditional music circuit for well known bands touring across the US. No doubt, it is on one side of his bar or the other, that Pat fostered his fondness for liquid Irish sunshine.
It is also at his bar that Pat and Martin crossed paths and got to know each other. Over a few whiskeys and a few late nights, dreams were replaced by plans and the rest is history as they say…Bua was conceived.
It has been no easy race getting to where we are today and there’s a lot more to come from us still. One thing that we can promise, is that we’ll stay incredibly proud of our status as an independent underdog Irish whiskey brand, keeping an emphasis on quality and a relentless small batch attention to detail.
Taking some inspiration from our idol the intrepid tortoise, Here’s to you, the hard workers, the never-give-uppers!
