Okay, this is part IMHO and part GQ. I put it here because I think ultimately there is a definite answer.
What would be the best way to determine the religious affiliation of the person who stirs the mash at the Bushmill’s distillery?
I know, an odd request. My brother for years wouldn’t drink Bushmills because it was made in N. Ireland. I personally am of the opinion that Bushmills is better than Jameson, purely on a taste basis.
However, my brother has recently turned to the Bushmills’ side of the issue. He claims that he heard from a reliable source (sorry, no cites) that a Catholic now stirs the mash - thus opening the door for him. Now, please understand - there’s no bigotry involved in this, the whole situation is so that he has something to talk about. In no way is he biased against Protestants, nor is he even slightly interested in the Ireland/N. Ireland troubles. He had just always been a Jamesons fan, and once he heard the nugget about “the Catholic stirring the mash” he thought it was hilarious and switched over (I think mainly so he can tell that story).
But is there anyway to really check the authenticity of this?
The picture you supplied answers your own question, doesn’t it? It’s neither a catholic or protestant, nor a Hindu for that matter - it’s a bloody great big machine (religious affiliation unknown)!
In script writing, when a highly improbable plot twist saves the hero’s butt (not to mention the writer’s) it is called the Hand of God, or Deux (Deus?) Machina. It is often regarded as a cheap and shoddy device of desperate writers, but, hey! If it allows Munch’s brother to drink excellent whiskey, who’s complaining?
Deus ex machina, actually. The phrase (literally, “god from the machine”) has its origin in the classical theater, in which a lot of plays would end with one of the gods being impressively lowered onto the stage and straightening out all the plot complications. The machina is the device that does the lowering.
