Bowmore distillery

Bowmore distillery stands on the south-eastern shore of Loch Indaal, on the Isle of Islay in Argyll and Bute. It is one of Scotland’s oldest working distilleries, said to have been founded in 1779. The site is owned today by Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd, a subsidiary of the Japanese drinks group Suntory Holdings. The distillery’s name comes from the Gaelic Taigh-staile Bogh Mòr, meaning ‘great barley house’. James Mutter, a merchant with farming interests and diplomatic roles, owned the distillery in the 19th century and introduced steamship deliveries of barley and coal. A bottle of Bowmore from 1850 later sold at auction for £29,400. The distillery’s history includes wartime use when RAF Coastal Command flew anti-submarine missions from Loch Indaal during the Second World War. After changing hands several times, it was bought by Stanley P. Morrison and James Howat in 1951. Morrison’s company expanded into Morrison Bowmore Distillery Ltd in 1963, and Suntory acquired the group in 1994. Bowmore now produces two million litres of spirit each year using traditional wooden washbacks and copper pot stills. The heat from distillation warms a public swimming pool built in a former warehouse on site. Visitors find a working distillery with traditional floor malting and copper stills visible through glass panels. The site includes warehouses where whisky is aged in oak casks before being bottled in Glasgow. The distillery shop sells single malts and limited editions, including the new ranges launched in 2024. Loch Indaal provides a dramatic backdrop, and the surrounding Islay landscape adds to the atmosphere. The stillhouse and mash house retain their original layout, offering a clear view of each stage of production.