Bruichladdich Distillery

The Bruichladdich Distillery was built in 1881 as a state-of-the-art distillery by The Harvey Brothers of the whisky dynasty family and it has remained unchanged ever since. Capacity doubled in 1960 to 1m litres (closure of own maltings), and again in 1975 (two extra stills) to 2m litres – but there was not enough water. From 1992 to 1994 there was a rapid succession of corporate owners (Invergordon, Whyte & MacKay, Jim Beam and Fortune Brands). It closed down in 1994 – ‘surplus to requirements’ and apart from a brief period in 1998, it lay silent until May 2001.

The distillery's buildings and stocks were bought for 7.5 million on 19th December 2000 by a private investor group led by former wine merchant Mark Reynier. It is now a private, Scottish company with shareholder base of 45 private individuals,
including Islay landowners.

Scotland’s purest single malt whisky is made from an unusual marriage of manual C19 equipment, inspirational distillery design and pre-industrial distilling techniques. 500,000 litres are distilled annually from 100% Scottish barley – increasingly Organic and Islay grown – from different farms (terroirs), varieties and peating levels.

Matured beside the Atlantic, the whisky is bottled in Islay’s only bottling hall - 100% naturally - free from chill-filtration, colouring, and homogenisation. Islay water, filtered through the oldest rocks in the whisky world, is used to reduce from cask to bottling strength of 46%. Inspired by both the wine and whisky worlds, pioneering whiskies are designed by Master Distiller Jim McEwan. Bruichladdich is known as The Sophisticated Islay. Owing to the unusually tall, narrow-necked stills our single malts are subtle yet compelling, fresh and ‘un-medicinal’. As the old French proverb says: “it is in old pans that one does the best cooking”.

Bruichladdich does not use any computers or automated processes used in the production of their whisky. The original
Victorian machinery, painstakingly restored over six months, is still used today. Since all spirit is retained (none being used for blending) a minimum of 710,000 litres are distilled annually, by slow trickle distillation.

Bruichladdich is a proudly independent and fiercely private Scottish company - incorporated, capitalised, financed and managed in Scotland. We are proud that the distillery is once again in private hands for the first time since the death of William Harvey the founder in 1936.

Public Tours
Lorna or Mary would be glad to organise a tour of the distillery for you.

Reservations
Please call +44 (0)1496 850 190 or send an e-mail to: Mary at The Bruichladdich Distillery

Timetable - To ensure we can give you the time that you deserve, please book your visit.

Shop Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 9am to 5pm & Saturday: 10am to 4pm.

Cost
£4 per person, including a dram. Approximate time: 45 minutes - depending on how many questions you ask….

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