Bruichladdich

Bruichladdich has enjoyed a renaissance since being acquired in 2000 for £6.5 million by a private consortium led by London wine merchant Mark Reynier and backed by local investors. In the previous decade, the distillery only operated briefly under Whyte & Mackay (during JBB Europe's ownership—Whyte & Mackay had acquired Bruichladdich when they took over Invergordon Distillers in 1993), spending much of the time closed. Bruichladdich was built from scratch in 1881 by the Harvey brothers (owners of Dundashill in Glasgow and York Distillery) using new materials of the time: concrete and beach pebbles. After William Harvey's death in 1937, the distillery was sold to Joseph Hobbs, who took over operations through his company Associated Scottish Distillers (A.S.D.) until selling it in 1952 for £205,000 (stock value) to Ross & Coulter—Glasgow whisky brokers and owners of Bladnoch Distillery. Ross & Coulter had previously sold Fettercairn Distillery to A.S.D. The company was merged into D.C.L. in 1954 and ceased operations in 1960. In the same year, Bruichladdich was sold to A.B. Grant & Co., who purchased Bladnoch from Ross & Coulter. In 1968, Grant sold Bruichladdich to Invergordon Distillers for £400,000. In 1975, the distillery's capacity was doubled (to four stills), then mothballed during the difficult years of the mid-1980s, and again between 1995 and 1998—after Whyte & Mackay's 1993 acquisition of Invergordon. Production was minimal between 1998 and 1999. With support from its new owners, Bruichladdich resumed full operation in July 2001. Over the next 11 years, they tirelessly built the brand, launching hundreds of expressions. In July 2012, they successfully sold the distillery to French spirits giant Rémy Cointreau for £58 million.

Bruichladdich is one of only five distilleries that still complete bottling on-site, featuring the world's only belt-driven mill, a cast iron mash tun, and a riveted still, all retaining Victorian-era decoration. As the distillery's Wikipedia entry states: 'You could say it's a working distillery museum.' It's somewhat quirky and fiercely independent. Bruichladdich's former Production Director James McEwan is a legendary figure in the Scotch whisky industry. Starting in 1963, he trained as a cooper at Bowmore Distillery and managed the warehouse there until moving to Glasgow in 1977, where he lived as a whisky blender for seven years. He returned to Bowmore as distillery manager in 1984 and soon began spending most of his time traveling the world, hosting tastings and promotional events to spread whisky culture, particularly promoting Islay and Scotch whiskies. He was persuaded to take over the Bruichladdich team in 2000 and retired in 2015. Bruichladdich once became the focus of surveillance by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency, who believed the distillery's equipment could be used to manufacture chemical weapons. The distillery owner didn't even know about it until a helpful US agent told them the webcam monitoring the still room was broken! Seizing the opportunity, Bruichladdich released a limited-edition commemorative bottling! In addition to traditional unpeated malt whisky, Bruichladdich also produces heavily peated whiskies, including Octomore and Port Charlotte. According to Martin Martin in 'A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland,' in 2006 the distillery also produced the highest alcohol content (at least in modern times) malt whisky: triple-distilled Trestarig and quadruple-distilled Usquebaugh-baul. The latter translates to 'perilous whisky,' with a cask strength of 88% vol. In 2010, the distillery installed a Lomond still from Inverleven Distillery in Dumbarton. After adjustments by Master Distiller James McEwan, they began distilling 'The Botanist' Islay dry gin in 2011.