Bruichladdich Classic Laddie

The Bruichladdich distillery is located on the north shore of Lochindaal, near the town of Port Charlotte and directly opposite Bowmore. This made it the westernmost distillery in Scotland until Kilchoman was officially opened in 2005. Bruichladdich was constructed in 1881 by Robert, William and John Gourlay Harvey. Members of the Harvey family remained owners and shareholders until 1929 when the Bruichladdich distillery was mothballed.

In 1938 Bruichladdich was sold and the distillery kept changing hands like a hot potato for next 40 years. In 1952 it was sold to Ross & Coulter Ltd, who in turn sold it to A.B. Grant in 1960. Invergordon Distillers acquired Bruichladdich in 1968 and expanded the number of stills from two to four in 1975, before selling it to JBB / Whyte & Mackay.

The Bruichladdich distillery was mothballed again in January 1995 and sold in 2000 to a consortium of twenty five different shareholders amoungst them seasoned professionals like Jim McEwan (formerly of Bowmore) and Murray McDavid’s Mark Reynier. Apart from the traditionally lightly peated spirit that is produced under the name Bruichladdich, two more heavily peated malts are being produced at the distillery. A heavily peated malt under the name ‘Port Charlotte’ (the name of the village two miles south of the distillery) produced since the start (or shortly afterwards) and an even more heavily peated malt with the name ‘Octomore’. Bruichladdich has now changed hands yet again and is now owned by drinks conglomerate Remy Cointreau.