The Bruichladdich Distillery is one of only 8 on the small island of Islay of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Based on the shore Loch Indaal on a small peninsula of Rhinns, it is well known for it’s bog, moorland and grasslands. The distillery was built in 1881 by the 3 Harvey brothers - William, John and Robert.
The Harvey brothers came from a famous dynastic whisky family, with relatives having owned two Glasgow distilleries since the 1770’s. This state-of-the-art facility was pioneering at the time, with very tall and narrow necked stills which produced a more pure spirit than those produced by the older farm distilleries.Before construction was finished, an argument between the brothers saw William run the distillery on his own until his death in 1936, with it then changing owners multiple times until it’s closure in 1994. Producing mostly spirit for blending purposes, it’s unpeated Bruichladdich whisky is unique on the island. The distillery was reopened in 2000 by a group of investors lead by Mark Reynier of Murray McDavid, with Jim McEwan of the Bowmore Distillery brought in as master distiller. Despite a full renovation in 2001 the original Victorian equipment, such as the rare open 7-tonne mashtun, is still in use today - with no computers in sight and the whole process controlled by teams of skilled artisans.
