Bruichladdich Distillery

Posted on December 19, 2020 in Education

Bruichladdich

Pronounced: brook-LAH-dee
Translation: Gaelic ‘the Brae (hillside) by the shore’
Region: Islay (Lochindaal)
Established: 1881
Website: http://www.bruichladdich.com/
Production Capacity: 1,500,000 litres of pure alcohol per year
Water Source: Spring at Octomore farm
Owner: Remy Cointreau
Master Distiller: Jim McEwan (retired 2015), Adam Hannett is the current Head Distiller.
House Style: Various
Temporary Closures: 1929 (reopens 1936), 1983 (in production for a few months 1998), reopens 2001.

Single Malts from Bruichladich at Norfolk Wine and Spirits.  Sale items will stay “On Sale” through 2020 or while supplies last.  Click here for a complete list.

Islay single malts evoke great passion among its followers.  Islay whiskies are most famous for their peated whiskies.  Bruichladdich produces a variety of staples of whisky.  From unpeated to heavily peated to the most peated whisky in the history of mankind (claim made by us).  They have also released some exceptional unpeated wine finished/matured whiskies named Black Art.  If that was not enough, they even produce a lovely gin, the Botanist.  And more… on occasion release a quadruple distilled single malt!

Bruichladdich is Scotland’s most westerly distillery, second only to Kilchoman. It is located on the western peninsula of Islay on the edge of Loch Indaal and looks across the water to the Bowmore distillery on the opposite shore. The distillery was built using stones from the local beach and was also one of the first buildings in the UK to use concrete in its construction. Despite its location on Islay, which is the home of smoky whisky, Bruichladdich has traditionally been produced as a non smoky whisky and the core range remains as such today. New owners have turned Bruichladdich into one of most innovative distilleries, as they break from tradition and experiment with different wine casks to mature their whisky. 

History

In 2004 Bruichladdich was the first distillery to grow barley locally on Islay for its single malts, probably the first time this had been done in the island’s history. It now works with 19 local farms, releasing the whiskies in its Islay Barley single vintage series. It is also a major distiller of organic barley and explores heritage barleys such as Bere Barley, and has even begun distilling rye.

On 19th, a group of private investors led by Mark Reynier and Simon Coughlin acquired Bruichladdich for £6.5 million (US$10.3m) from Beam Inc. through Murray McDavid (an independent whisky bottlers). Mark persuaded Jim McEwan, the respected distiller, native islander and raconteur to leave his position as distillery manager at Bowmore, the Islay distillery where he started work at the age of 15 in 1963 as a cooper, to become Production Director at Bruichladdich.

The distillery had never been modernised and most of the original Victorian equipment remained. Between January and May 2001 this was all dismantled and reassembled to return the plant to working order, augmented by the acquisition of some second-hand equipment. They started distilling again on 11th September 2001.

Although the distillery had not distilled whisky for almost eight years, when Mark and the investors purchased Bruichladdich with it came 1.2 million litres of whisky dating back to 1984. They needed to sell stocks to raise the money required to refurbish and run the distillery and the resulted in a huge number of bottlings. To quote Mark, “We would find a range of barrels which we thought intriguing and bottle them up. There was a certain degree of exuberance at discovering what stocks we had. Limited editions were easier to sell. We operated a hit and run tactic of aiming bottlings at specific markets.” They started releasing a wide variety of limited-edition bottlings in 2006, many of the whiskies being just six years old or younger. The result was a proliferation of Bruichladdich products.

By the time Mark and Jim were able to access and properly inspect the distillery in January 2001, it had been silent for seven years. To recommission the distillery they needed the help of someone who knew it well and they turned to Duncan MacGillivray who had started work at Bruichladdich as trainee stillman in 1974 Duncan MacGillivray before going on to become engineer, and then head brewer in 1978. He left in 1984 when production was dropped to a one day week but returned in 1990 and stayed until the distillery was mothballed in 1994. Reynier and McEwan persuaded Duncan to return to Bruichladdich for one last time as General Manager. He was tasked to use his engineering skills, improvisation and a shoestring budget to reinstate the distillery.  The distillery had never been modernised and most of the original Victorian equipment remained. Between January and May 2001 this was all dismantled and reassembled to return the plant to working order, augmented by the acquisition of some second-hand equipment. They started distilling again on 11th September 2001.

In July 2012, Rémy Cointreau acquired Bruichladdich for £58 million (US$92.2m) and set about a much needed rationalisation of the range of Bruichladdich whiskies on offer.

Bruichladdich continues to operate in its original 1881 layout with much of the original Victorian equipment. It is the biggest private employer on the island with around 80 islanders directly employed.  

Affectionately known as ‘The Laddie’, the distillery is unusual in that its two wash and two spirit copper pot stills are exclusively used to produce its own single malt whisky bottlings. Bruichladdich is not produced for use in blends. A fifth still, a Lomond pot-still, uniquely adapted by head distiller Jim McEwan, is used to make The Botanist Gin using 22 locally foraged botanicals.

Three different styles of single malt whisky are made by the “Progressive Hebridean Distillers” at Bruichladdich with three different brand names representing three varying degrees of peat.

Bruichladdich: Always unpeated. Light, fruity, delicate and elegant.
Port Charlotte: Heavily peated to 40ppm. Peat with finesse and elegance.
Octomore: (released in 2008) Super heavily peated to 160ppm + and billed as being the world’s most heavily peated whisky.

All whisky and gin produced at Bruichladdich Distillery is reduced to bottling strength using Islay spring water from nearby Octomore Farm, and bottled on Islay without chill-filtration or caramel colouring.

References

https://www.diffordsguide.com/producers/255/bruichladdich-distillery

https://islay.com/about-islay/islay-distilleries/

https://www.islayinfo.com/islay_whisky_distilleries.html