Bowmore Distillery, Islay

Bowmore Distillery, situated on the rugged Hebridean Island of Islay, was founded in 1779 and is the second oldest distillery in Scotland today. The distillery's location on this windswept isle has played an important part in determining the legendary smoky and rich character of the single malt whisky it produces.

Bowmore Single Malt is produced using water from the nearby Laggan River, which echoes the flavours of the Islay peat used in the fires of the malt-drying kiln. The distillery is among the last to have maintained a tradition of malting its own barley by hand, turning with wooden malt shovels. Around one-quarter of the malt needed for its whiskies is made in-house; the rest is bought in. The malt used has a phenol specification of 25-30 ppm.

Today, the distillery is owned by Beam Suntory, but tradition still reigns, with Warehouse No.1, standing right next to the sea, still the oldest whisky warehouse in use in Scotland. The character of the single malt is further developed here, where the whiskies are kept for up to 40 years in ex-Sherry and ex-Bourbon casks.

(Adapted from the Malt Whisky Yearbook 2024)