Islay Bowmore Whisky Distillery. Pictures history bottlings and tour information

Recommended Books

Island Series - Islay Guide

A small book, loaded with gorgeous colour pictures of this beautiful Island in the Hebrides. Has a useful Information and Places to visit Guide. Includes a map, distillery info and lots more.

Landranger Islay Map

This map is part of the Landranger (Pink) series and is designed for people who really want to get to know an area. This map makes your Islay Discovery a lot easier and is a must for every visitor of Islay.

Walking Islay

A guide to the best walking on Scotland's remote Southern Hebrides - Jura, Islay, Colonsay and Oronsay. Jura, Islay and Colonsay offer some of wildest scenery in the British Isles

Whisky & Distilleries

Bowmore Distillery

Back to Distillery Map

Bowmore Distillery is situated on the shores of Loch Indaal, right in the heart of the lovely town of Bowmore, which means great reef or Sea Rock. A few distinctive characters of Bowmore Single Malt Whiskies are smoke, salt and sea-weed, a great combination and when you look to the distillery from the pier in Bowmore you understand how these tastes end up in your dram.

John Simpson started the distillery on a small scale in 1779, and therefore Bowmore Distillery is the oldest legal Distillery on Islay. Bowmore Distillery changed hands in 1837 when William and James Mutter took over and expanded the distillery. More recently the Morrison family owned it until the take over by the Japanese Company Santoro. Bowmore is one of three remaining Islay Distilleries which still have floor maltings, with phenol levels of 18/25 p.p.m.

Bowmore is known for producing a wide variety of whiskies of different ages and finishes. While this practice may be considered a marketing ploy rather than an effective technique for improving quality, it has enabled the company to offer an eclectic range of taste and price. Bowmore whisky is milder than the three southern Kildalton distilleries and as said above, it has distinct peaty and salty flavours. The taste and location fit perfectly together. Both in the middle of the Souther and Northern distilleries on the island.

Bowmore 12yr Recently the visitor centre has had a major refurbishment as well as the brand name of Bowmore, which has changed to Bowmore, The Original Islay Malt, referring to Bowmore's old tradition on Islay.

Distillery Info, Tours and visitor centre opening hours

Visitor Centre Opening Hours
Easter to June: Mon to Sat 09:00 - 17:00
July, Aug & Sep: Mon to Sat: 09:00 - 17:00 Sun 12:00 to 16:00
October to Easter: Mon to Fri 09:00 - 17:00. Sat 09:00 - 12:00

Distillery Tours (£6)
Easter to June: 10:00, 11:00, 14:00 & 15:00
July, Aug & Sep: 10:00, 11:00, 14:00 & 15:00. Sun: 13:00 & 14:00
October to Easter: 10:30 & 15:00. Sat 10:00

Special Tours
Bowmore Distillery offers a number of special tours. For up to date info please download the current Distillery Leaflet

Contact Info
bowmore.distillery@morrisonbowmore.co.uk
www.bowmore.co.uk
Visitor Centre + 44 (0) 1496 810 441
Bowmore Distillery on Google Streetview

Lady of the Isles - Personalised Whisky Tours over the Island

Books from Amazon

Andrew Jefford - Peat Smoke and Spirit

Those who discover malt whisky quickly learn that the malts made on the Isle of Islay are some of the wildest and most characterful in the malt-whisky spectrum.

Neil Wilson - The Island Whisky Trail

This guide for the whisky enthusiast covers the distilleries of the Hebrides and the west coast of Scotland.