Bruichladdich Distillery
Region: Islay, Scotland. PA49 7UN
Founded: 1881
Status: Active
Owner: Remy Cointreau
Water source: Bruichladdich loch (mash), burn (cooling), and Octomore spring (bottling)
Mashtun: Cast iron open-topped
Washbacks: 6x Oregon pine
Stills: 2x Wash 2x Spirit 1 Lomond
Capacity: 1.5 million litres per annum
History:
Bruichladdich was built in 1881 by the Harvey brothers—William (32), John (31) and Robert (23)—on the shore of Loch Indaal, on the Rinns of Islay, the westernmost part of the island. The Harveys were a dynastic whisky family that had owned two Glasgow distilleries since 1770. Using an inheritance, the three brothers combined their talents to build a third distillery—Bruichladdich—designed by John, engineered by Robert, and financed by William and other family members. At the time, the distillery was a state-of-the-art design unlike Islay’s older distilleries, which had developed from old farm buildings. It was built from stone from the sea shore and has a very efficient layout, built around a large, spacious courtyard.
The uniquely tall and narrow-necked stills were chosen to produce a very pure and original spirit, the opposite of the styles produced by the older farm distilleries. Bruichladdich was run by William Harvey, after a quarrel with his brothers before the distillery was even completed, until a fire in 1934 and his death in 1936. Over the next forty years it subsequently changed owners several times as a result of corporate take-overs and rationalisation of the industry, narrowly avoiding closure until 1994, when it was shut down as being ‘surplus to requirements’.
The distillery was subsequently purchased by a group of private investors led by Mark Reynier of Murray McDavid on 19 December 2000. Jim McEwan, who had worked at Bowmore Distillery since the age of 15, was hired as master distiller and production director. Between January and May 2001 the whole distillery was dismantled and reassembled, with the original Victorian décor and equipment retained. Having escaped modernisation, most of the original Harvey machinery is still in use today. No computers are used in production with all processes controlled by a pool of skilled artisans who pass on information orally and largely measure progress using dipsticks and simple flotation devices.
On 23 July 2012, it was announced that Rémy Cointreau reached an agreement with Bruichladdich to buy the distillery for a sum of £58m.
Links:
Our visit: 26th April 2014 WOLS Islay Trip
Photos:
Bruichladdich Whisky Reviews:
Bruichladdich 12 Year Old 1998 Ancien Regime Feis Ile 2011 ~ 46% (Bruichladdich) - Review: Bruichladdich 12 Year Old 1998 Ancien Regime Feis Ile 2011 Category: Islay single malt scotch whisky Origin: Bruichladdich Distillery Bottling: Bruichladdich Feis Ile 2011 ABV: 46% Cost: £81.46 from Master of Malt What they say: The first of two special releases to mark the acquisition and rebirth of Bruichladdich distillery, distilled in 1998 under the […]
Bruichladdich 24 Years Old Valinch 7 Andy Ritchie ~ 51.4% (Bruichladdich) - Whisky Review: Bruichladdich 24 Years Old Valinch 7 Andy Ritchie (Laddie Crew) Category: Islay single malt scotch whisky Origin: Bruichladdich Distillery Bottling: Hand-fill Distillery Only ABV: 51.4% Cost: £100 What they say: Launched not long after Feis Ile 2014, infact, I remember the crew wheeling the cask in and getting it ready a few days […]
Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2008 ~ 50% (Bruichladdich) - Review: Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2008 UHI Orkney Farms single malt scotch whisky Bruichladdich Distillery – Remy Cointreau 50% ABV £54.57 from Master of Malt (now sold out) Score: 86/100 What they say: bruichladdich Bere Barley 2008 UHI Orkney Farms The 2007 crop for this, our third release of Bere Barley, was grown on Orkney and supplied […]
Bruichladdich Cuvee 382 La Berenice ~ 46% (Bruichladdich) - Bruichladdich Cuvee 382 La Berenice 46% ABV, £100 for 70cl Score: 89/100 What they say: This American-oak-aged Bruichladdich has been further matured in casks that previously contained the lush sweet white wines of two of the greatest chateaux of Barsac and Sauternes. Casks that have held wine from grapes grown to honeyed intensity from some […]
Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 Rockside Farm ~ 50% (Bruichladdich) - Review: Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 Rockside Farm single malt scotch whisky Bruichladdich Distillery – Remy Cointreau 50% ABV £42.49 from Master of Malt Score: 84/100 What they say: bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 Rockside Farm The wild west Atlantic facing coast gave birth to this third release in our uber-provenance Islay Barley series. Harvested in 2006 […]
Bruichladdich Micro-Provenance Cask 013 ~ 50.6% (Rémy Cointreau) - Review: Bruichladdich Micro-Provenance Cask 013 Category: Islay single malt scotch whisky Origin: Bruichladdich Distillery Bottling: Official for #LaddieMP3 ABV: 50.6% Cost: £90 Score: 86/100 What they say: The Micro Provenance series is unique to Bruichladdich and is conceived as an exploration into cask evolution, each individually picked by head distiller Adam Hannett to explore the fine […]
Bruichladdich Micro-Provenance Cask 229 ~ 62.2 (Rémy Cointreau) - Review: Bruichladdich Micro-Provenance Cask 229 Category: Islay single malt scotch whisky Origin: Bruichladdich Distillery Bottling: Rémy Cointreau for #LaddieMP3 ABV: 62.2% Cost: £90 for 3x 20cl Score: 84/100 What they say: What I say: Sample from #LaddieMP3 Colour: Dark copper and ruby highlights (13/20), fine tears and trails Nose: Floral and a little spirit/newmake touch of […]
Bruichladdich Micro-Provenance Cask 543 ~ 60.1% (Rémy Cointreau) - Review: Bruichladdich Micro-Provenance Cask 543 Category: Islay single malt scotch whisky Origin: Bruichladdich Distillery Bottling: Rémy Cointreau for #LaddieMP3 ABV: 60.1% Cost: £90 for 3x 20cl Score: 87/100 What they say: Porto cask matured 12 Years Old Distilled in 2003 and bottled in 2015, this single malt whisky has spent its entire maturation period in a […]
Bruichladdich Organic ~ 46% (Bruichladdich) - Bruichladdich Organic (Official Bottling) NAS, 46% ABV, RRP £35 for 70cl Score 73/100 What they say: Following on from our landmark Organic 2003 vintage, this release is a multi-vintage vatting in which Jim McEwan has brought together the finest organic barley from our farmers and partners, Sir William Roberts of Mains of Tullibardine, William Rose at […]
Bruichladdich Rocks ~ 46% (Bruichladdich) - Bruichladdich Rocks. NAS, 46% ABV, £35 for 70cl Score 77/100 What they say: Bruichladdich Rocks, in more ways than one – as only Bruichladdich can. A bracing, light and floral dram that expresses both the marine top-notes of classic Bruichladdich spirit and master distiller Jim McEwan’s lifetime experience. Jim has selected individual casks from our […]
Bruichladdich The Laddie Eight ~ 50% (Rémy Cointreau) - Review: Bruichladdich The Laddie Eight Category: Islay single malt scotch whisky Origin: Bruichladdich Distillery Bottling: Rémy Cointreau ABV: 50% Cost: £63.60 from Bruichladdich What they say: The classic, complex Bruichladdich dram, and our very first “Eight”. Our ‘new make’ spirit sets out on its journey through life full of the crisp, fresh, malty flavours derived from […]
Bruichladdich The Organic Scottish Barley ~ 50% (Bruichladdich) - Review: Bruichladdich The Organic Scottish Barley single malt scotch whisky Bruichladdich Distillery – Remy Cointreau 50% ABV £64.26 for 1L from Master of Malt Score: 82/100 What they say: bruichladdich The Organic Scottish Barley 100% Scottish organic barley, slow trickle distillation and premium American oak have produced the creamiest whisky we have ever tasted. In […]
Octomore 06.1/167ppm Scottish Barley ~ 57% (Bruichladdich) - Octomore 06.1/167ppm Scottish Barley 57% ABV, £90 for 70cl Score: 90/100 What they say: The world’s most heavily peated whisky, this is the sixth edition of the uber-experimental cult Octomore. Titanic amounts of peat but with a light, delicate complexity and a beguiling finesse. Young, yet eminently mature, it defies us. It remains an enigma. […]
Octomore 07.2 / 208ppm Cask Evolution ~ 58.5% (Bruichladdich) - Review: Octomore 07.2 5 year old single malt scotch whisky Bruichladdich Distillery – Remy Cointreau 58.5% ABV £118.18 from Master of Malt Score: 87/100 What they say: octomore07.2/ 208ppm Cask Evolution The latest exemplar of the cult that surrounds the world’s most heavily peated whisky series. A limited edition cuvee that marries spirit matured in […]
Port Charlotte 12 Years Old 2002 127.42 Peat freak heaven ~ 63% (SMWS) - Port Charlotte 12 Years Old 2002 – 127.42 Peat freak heaven Islay single malt scotch whisky 63% ABV, £61.30 for 70cl from Scotch Malt Whisky Society Score: 87/100 What they say: Cask 127.42 Colour: Dull amber Flavour: Heavily Peated The nose had unmistakable smoke (though we argued about the intensity), something medicinal (plasters, surgical spirit, […]
Port Charlotte 12 Years Old 2003 127.44 Cantina Mexicana ~ 56.9% (SMWS) - Review: Port Charlotte 12 Years Old 2003 127.44 Cantina Mexicana Category: Islay single malt scotch whisky Origin: Bruichladdich Distillery Bottling: The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Cask 127.44 ABV: 56.9% Cost: £120 for Members, £240 for non-members from SMWS What they say: Not only does it look lovely in the glass – a wonderful deep amber […]
Port Charlotte 2007 CC:01 ~ 57.8% (Rémy Cointreau) - Review: Port Charlotte 2007 CC:01 Category: Islay single malt scotch whisky Origin: Bruichladdich Distillery Bottling: Rémy Cointreau ABV: 57.8% Cost: £63.60 from Bruichladdich What they say: The Port Charlotte 2007 CC:01 is the latest in our thought-provoking range of single malts. Each is a tribute to the exceptional, heavily peated spirit that was created at Loch […]
Port Charlotte 9 Years Old 2003 127.37 Dinosaurs Dancing to Stravinsky ~ 66.5% (SMWS) - SMWS 127.37 Dinosaurs Dancing to Stravinsky Port Charlotte 9 Years Old 2003 single malt scotch whisky 66.5% ABV, £109.50 from SMWS Score: 87/100 What they say: Cask No. 127.37 Nose: The initial nosing is (obviously) peat up front, but there’s something else going on, which we quickly identified was the influence of sherry wood. We […]
Port Charlotte An Turas Mor ~ 46% (Bruichladdich) - Review: Port Charlotte An Turas Mor single malt scotch whisky Bruichladdich Distillery – Remy Cointreau 46% ABV £35.39 from Master of Malt Score: 88/100 What they say: Port Charlotte Heavily peated Heavily peated Single Malt Scotch Whisky THE POWER OF PEAT WITH THE ELEGANCE, COMPLEXITY AND FLORAL TOPNOTES FOR WHICH OUR BRUICHLADICH STILLS ARE FAMOUS. […]
Port Charlotte PC11 ~ 59.5% (Bruichladdich) - Port Charlotte PC11 EÃ’RNA NA H-ALBA Heavily Peated 59.5% ABV, £150 for 70cl Score: 88/100 What they say: This seventh annual release in our Port Charlotte PC series encounters this heavily peated spirit eleven years into its journey. Each year we release just a handful of precious bottles at cask strength. Our mission? To explore […]
Port Charlotte PC12 OILEANACH FURACHAIL ~ 58.7% (Bruichladdich) - Port Charlotte PC12 OILEANACH FURACHAIL (Travel Retail Exclusive) Heavily Peated Islay Single Malt 58.7% ABV, ~£110 for 70cl Score: 88/100 What they say: In the Port Charlotte PC range we celebrate change. Our very first release, PC5, eight short years ago was named “Evolution”. With arrivals there are departures. Nothing lasts forever. And so, the […]
Port Charlotte Scottish Barley ~ 50% (Bruichladdich) - Port Charlotte Scottish Barley 50% ABV, £44.95 for 70cl available at Royal Mile Whiskies (here) Score: 88/100 What they say: Pronounced “brook-laddie,” Bruichladdich sits close to Port Charlotte on Islay. Apart from a break in the 1920’s and 1930’s whisky has been produced steadily until 1983 when production ceased briefly. In 1985, the future looked bleak […]
The Classic Laddie Scottish Barley ~ 50% (Bruichladdich) - The Classic Laddie Scottish Barley 50% ABV, £40 for 70cl Score: 80/100 What they say: This single malt Scotch whisky has been crafted by master distiller Jim McEwan from individually selected casks to showcase the classic, floral and elegant Bruichladdich house style. Unpeated, it is our signature bottling and the definitive Bruichladdich. Made from 100% Scottish […]
