From 1996: 

THE newly elected mayor of San Francisco has thrown himself behind a campaign to boycott Bushmills whiskey, by pouring a bottle of Antrim’s finest down the city drains.

The action by Mr Willie Brown, a Democrat, came in response to a call for a boycott from an Irish American group which has accused Bushmills of anti Catholic employment practices. Latest figures from the Fair Employment Commission suggest that only 10 of the distillery’s 108 member workforce are Catholics.

But Irish Distillers, owners of the brand, expressed “surprise and disappointment” at the allegations, which it said were without foundation.

The company said that improved technology in the industry has left little room for new employment in recent years and that in Bushmills’ only expanding area the visitors centre Catholic employment runs at 27 per cent.