About Bruichladdich Whisky Distillery
Distillery Number
01496 850221
Distillery Capacity
1 500 000 litres
Distillery Founded
1881
Distillery Status
Active
Distillery Owner
Bruichladdich Distillery Co
Distillery Address
Bruichladdich, Islay, Argyll
Distillery Website
www.bruichladdich.com
1881
Barnett Harvey builds the distillery with money left by his brother William III to his three sons William IV, Robert and John Gourlay. The Harvey family already owns the distilleries Yoker and Dundashill.
1886
Bruichladdich Distillery Company Ltd is founded and reconstruction commences.
1889
William Harvey becomes Manager and remains on that post until his death in 1937.
1929
Temporary closure.
1936
The distillery reopens.
1938
Joseph Hobbs, Hatim Attari and Alexander Tolmie purchase the distillery for £23 000 through the company Train & McIntyre.
1952
The distillery is sold to Ross & Coulter from Glasgow.
1960
A. B. Grant buys Ross & Coulter.
1961
Own maltings ceases and malt is brought in from Port Ellen.
1968
Invergordon Distillers take over.
1975
The number of stills increases to four.
1983
Temporary closure.
1993
Whyte & Mackay buys Invergordon Distillers.
1995
The distillery is mothballed in January.
1998
In production again for a few months, and then mothballed.
2000
After several years of attempts, Murray McDavid buys the distillery from JBB Greater Europe (previously Whyte & Mackay Group) for £6.5 million. 1.4 million litres of whisky from 1964 and younger is included in the purchase.
2001
Jim McEwan from Bowmore becomes Production Director. The first distillation (Port Charlotte) is on 29th May and the first distillation of Bruichladdich starts in July. In September the owners’ first bottlings from the old casks are released, 10, 15 and 20 years old.
2002
The world’s most heavily peated whisky is produced on 23rd October when Octomore (80ppm) is distilled.
2003
Bruichladdich becomes the only distillery on Islay bottling on-site. It is awarded Distillery of the Year for the second time and launches the golf series, Links, 14 years old.
2004
Second edition of the 20 year old (nick-named Flirtation) and 3D, also called The Peat Proposal, are launched.
2005
Several new expressions are launched - the second edition of 3D, Infinity (a mix of 1989, 1990, 1991 and Port Charlotte), Rocks, Legacy Series IV, The Yellow Submarine and The Twenty ‘Islands’.
2006
Included in a number of new releases in autumn is the first official bottling of Port Charlotte; PC5.
2007
New releases include Redder Still, Legacy 6, two new Links, PC6 and an 18 year old.
2008
More than 20 new expressions including the first Octomore, Bruichladdich 2001, PC7, Golder Still and two sherry matured from 1998.