Bruichladdich Distillery - Tour Times:

Easter to October
Monday to Friday 9:00 - 17:00. Tours at 10:30, 11:30 and 14:30. Saturday 10:00 - 16:00. Tours at 10:30 and 14:30

November to Easter:
Tours at 11:30 and 14:30 on week days. Saturday 11:30 only


Current owner: The Bruichladdich Distillery Co. Ltd
Distillery Manager: Duncan McGillivray

Shop:
+ 44 (0) 1496 850190
+ 44 (0) 1496 850919
Tours/shop enquiries: mary@bruichladdich.com

General and Academy Enquiries:
Acadamy email: ella@bruichladdich.com
Distillery www.bruichladdich.com
Shop www.laddieshop.com
+ 44 (0) 1496 850221
+ 44 (0) 1496 850477

Bruichladdich History and Distillery Information

Bruichladdich was built in 1881 by the brothers Robert William and John Gourlay Harvey in an idyllic spot on the shore of Loch Indaal. At the time, the distillery was state-of-the-art and the equipment continues to be used unchanged. Unlike other distilleries, which were often built from old farm houses, the building was erected specifically for this purpose. It was built from stone from the seashore and has a very efficient layout. At the center of the buildings is a yard that holds the kiln to dry the malt and a steam engine to generate the electricity. The distillery changed owners and was out of use from 1929 to 1937. In the early days barley was shipped to the pier at Bruichladdich, and then transferred to the distillery by horse and cart and off-loaded to the Barley loft by tying the sacks to a rope which was looped through a pulley block, and the other end attached to a horse which when moved forward, pulled the sack up to the level of the loft opening.

The distillery closed in 1994, but was purchased by Murray McDavid on December 19, 2000 and completely remodelled. Jim McEwan, who had worked at Bowmore Distillery, was hired as Production Director. The Victorian decór was mostly preserved. The machines, roasting ovens, and piping were completely removed and renovated by a team of engineers(local crofters,who also work in the distillery). In the entire distillery, not a single computer is used (apart from the ones in the offices and the webcams and such). It is, you might say, a museum of a distillery that is still in operation. There is some modern controversy surrounding the distillery's advertised pronunciation of the name. They suggest brook-laddie, which incorporates a common mispronunciation of the Gaelic ch element.

The distillery uses one mashtun (6.2 tonnes) and six washbacks (together, 210,000 liters). The still is composed of two wash stills (together 23,000 liters) and two spirit stills (together 21,000 liters), all heated by steam. The Harvey Bottling Hall has been running since May 25, 2003. This is the only distillery on Islay which bottles on-site. In May 2004, a cooperage hall was opened, and since December 2004, the malt used is grown on the island.

2006 was an important year for Bruichladdich, the year that the new owners introduced their first whisky which was matured and bottled under their management in late 2006. The name of this first whisky is Port Charlotte Evolution 5yr old, referring to the former distillery in Port Charlotte.

Related info: Alfred Barnard's visit to Bruichladdich Distillery in the 1880s

Bottlings
Variety - Our Spice of Life. With this sentence it is clear that Bruichladdich is not a "standard" distillery with "standard" bottlings. The variety of the normal and vintage whiskies is huge. Bruichladdich classify their whiskies in 4 categories of specific flavour profiles:

Mood Malts
The mood malts come from a 10yr old to the twenty "islands"

Multi Vintage
A range of Designer Malts masterfully tailored by Jim McEwan for specific palates.
The varieties are 3D, 3D Moine Mhor, Infinity and Rocks

Single Vintage
Whisky with outstanding attributes distilled from a single barley harvest.
The vareties are Full Strength, Full Strength Second Edition, The 1970 and The 1973

Specials
Here you find the oldest whiskies, rarities, one-offs, collectables and odd balls. Fine Islay whisky in exceedingly limited supply – here today and gone tomorrow.
Some varieties are The Forty Legacy Series, The Links Range, WMDII and The Valinch