55°45′25.7″N6°17′23.44″W / 55.757139°N 6.2898444°W /55.757139; -6.2898444
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| Region:Islay | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Suntory Global Spirits |
| Founded | 1779 |
| Status | Operational |
| Water source | River Laggan, Islay |
| No. of stills | 2 wash 2 spirit[1] |
| Capacity | 1,700,000 L |
| Bowmore | |
| Age(s) | Legend 12-year-old 15-year-old 18-year-old 25-year-old |
| Cask type(s) | American Oak (86%) Sherry (14%) |
Bowmore distillery (/boʊˈmɔːr/boh-MOR,Scottish Gaelic:Taigh-staile Bogh Mòr)[2] is aIslay single maltScotch whisky distillery located on theIsle of Islay, an island of theInner Hebrides.[3]
The distillery, which lies on the South Eastern shore ofLoch Indaal, is one of the oldest inScotland. It is said to have been established in 1779 and is the oldest running distillery onIslay.[3] The distillery is owned by Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd, aholding company owned bySuntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary ofSuntory Holdings ofOsaka, Japan.
The Bowmore Distillery was established in 1779 by a local merchant, John P. Simson, before passing into the ownership of the Mutter family, a family of German descent.[3] James Mutter, head of the family, also had farming interests and wasVice Consul representing theOttoman Empire,Portugal, andBrazil through theirGlasgowconsulates.[3] There are no records that pinpoint the date Mutter acquired the distillery from Simpson. Mutter would introduce a number of innovative processes to the distillery during his tenure and even had a small ironsteam ship built to importbarley andcoal from the mainland and to export the whisky to Glasgow.[3] A bottle of 1850 Bowmore Single Malt was sold at an auction in September 2007 for £29,400.[4]
The distillery was closed in 1915[5] until it was bought from the Mutter family in 1925 byJ.B. Sheriff & Co. and remained under their ownership until being purchased byInverness-basedWilliam Grigor & Son, Ltd. in 1950.[3]
During the World Wars the Bowmore Distillery halted production, and hosted theRAF Coastal Command for much ofWorld War II, Coastal Command operatedflying boats from Loch Indaal onanti-submarine warfare missions.[3]
Stanley P. Morrison and James Howat formedStanley P. Morrison Ltd. in 1951, and this company formedMorrison's Bowmore Distillery, Ltd. in 1963 in order to take over the Bowmore Distillery. Stanley P. Morrison died in 1971, and control of the companies passed to Brian Morrison.[6][3]
In 1994 the Japanese distillerSuntory bought Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd. Suntory had previously been a shareholder in Morrison Bowmore for several years.[7] Morrison Bowmore also own theAuchentoshan and Glen Garioch distilleries and produce theMcClelland's Single Malt range of bottlings.[3]
In August 2024, Bowmore distillery unveiled an updated bottle design and two new ranges.[8]
Bowmore Distillery sources as muchbarley as possible from on the island of Islay, but there are insufficient quantities produced to satisfy the distillery's demand, so barley is also imported from the mainland. The distillery retains a traditional floormalting, but this also lacks sufficient capacity; the barley imported from the mainland is normally already malted.[3][7]
The distillery has an annual capacity of two million litres, withfermentation undertaken in traditional wooden washbacks before the liquid is passed through two wash stills and then through two spirit stills.[7][9]
Thewaste heat from the distillation process goes to heat a nearby publicswimming pool that was built in one of the distillery's former warehouses.[9][10]
Morrison Bowmore bottles all whisky produced at Bowmore Distillery and their other distilleries at a facility inSpringburn,Glasgow.[11]
Standard Range[12]
Limited Edition
Travel Retail[12]
Bowmore also produce a number of special edition bottlings and market-specific bottlings. Independent bottlings are also readily available.
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