Bowmore Distillery
Islay’s balanced, gently peated single malt, made on Loch Indaal since 1779.
Bowmore is the oldest distillery on Islay, making a balanced, gently peated single malt in the island’s main town and owned by Suntory Global Spirits. Here is who owns it, how it is made, the range, the history and how to visit.
At a glance
House style & flavour profile
Balanced smoke with honey, citrus and a salty edge.
Gentle peat smoke, honey, lemon and sea salt. Smoke, orange peel and vanilla, with dark chocolate and dried fruit in the sherried bottlings.
Medium to long, with soft smoke and a salty edge.
Reviews of Bowmore Distillery
Visiting the distillery
The distillery is in Bowmore town, about eleven miles from Port Ellen. Islay is reached by ferry from Kennacraig or by air from Glasgow. Summer and the Fèis Ìle festival in late May sell out early, so book well ahead.
History
The full guide to Bowmore Distillery
Bowmore is often called the middle ground of Islay. It makes a smoky single malt, but a softer, sweeter and more floral one than its neighbours on the south coast, and it is one of the best places to start if you are curious about peated whisky but find the strongest bottles too much. The distillery stands in the island’s main town, on the shore of Loch Indaal, and it has been making whisky there since 1779.
Who owns Bowmore?
Bowmore is owned by Suntory Global Spirits, the drinks arm of the Japanese group Suntory, which was known as Beam Suntory until it was renamed. Suntory has owned the distillery since 1994, when it bought the Glasgow company Morrison Bowmore, which also owned Auchentoshan and Glen Garioch. The Morrison family had bought Bowmore in the 1960s.
That makes Bowmore a sister distillery to Laphroaig, which Suntory bought later, in 2014. In Japan the group owns Yamazaki and Hakushu. For the wider picture of which company owns which whisky, see our guide to who owns what in whisky.
The history of Bowmore Distillery
Bowmore gives 1779 as its founding date, and it is generally counted as the oldest distillery on Islay. It was started by a local merchant, David Simson, in the planned village of Bowmore, which had only been laid out a few years before. Ownership passed through several hands in the 1800s, including the Mutter family, before the Morrison family took it over in the 1960s.
Its most famous warehouse, No. 1 Vaults, is one of the oldest maturation cellars in Scotland and sits partly below the level of the loch next door. During the Second World War, the RAF used the distillery as a base for flying boats patrolling the Atlantic. Another quirk is that waste heat from the stills has long been used to warm the town’s swimming pool. To place Bowmore among its neighbours, read the Islay whisky boom and our beginner’s guide to Islay whisky.
How Bowmore makes its whisky
Bowmore makes its whisky from peated malted barley, water and yeast. It is one of the few Islay distilleries that still malts part of its own barley on a traditional floor, turning it by hand, and it dries the malt over a peat fire. The peating is medium, at about 25 ppm phenols, which is well below Laphroaig or Ardbeg. Our guide to how peat works in whisky explains why that matters for the flavour.
The water comes from the Laggan River. The distillery has four copper pot stills, two for the first distillation and two for the second. The spirit is matured in a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, and the balance between the two shapes each bottling. For the wider context, see how whisky is made.
Why is Bowmore less smoky than other Islay whiskies?
The peat level is lower, and the spirit is lighter and more floral to begin with. Maturation in a warehouse at the edge of the loch is often said to add a salty, coastal note, and the sherry casks add dried fruit and dark chocolate. The result is smoke that sits alongside the sweetness instead of covering it.
The Bowmore range
Bowmore’s range is built around age statements and cask type. The main expressions are:
- Legend and No. 1, the younger no-age-statement entry bottlings, at a lower price. See our note on age statements versus NAS.
- 12 Year Old (40% ABV), the core bottle and the one most people try first. Read our Bowmore 12 review.
- 15 Year Old Darkest, finished in oloroso sherry casks for a darker, richer and sweeter dram.
- 18 Year Old, a softer, older bottling with more depth and less smoke.
- Vault Edition, a cask strength series with more smoke and salt, released in small batches. See our guide to cask strength whisky.
- Older and rarer bottlings, including very old vintages that sell as collectors’ pieces.
New to the brand? Start with the 12 Year Old. To see how it fits among the island’s big names, read Laphroaig vs Ardbeg vs Lagavulin, and try our Laphroaig 10, Lagavulin 16 and Caol Ila 12 reviews. Our note on sherry cask versus bourbon cask shows why the cask matters here.
How to drink Bowmore
Bowmore 12 is easy to drink neat, with a drop of water if you like, and it works well as a first Islay in a highball with soda. The sherried bottlings such as the 15 Darkest are better neat, after dinner. It also makes a good float in a Penicillin. If you are new to the style, our beginner’s guide to Islay whisky suggests an order to try things in.
Visiting Bowmore Distillery on Islay
Bowmore stands in the island’s main town, so it is easy to combine with a walk around the harbour and the round church. The visitor centre offers tours that include the stills and warehouses, as well as tastings. Islay is reached by ferry from Kennacraig, or by a short flight from Glasgow, and the town is about eleven miles from Port Ellen. Summer and the Fèis Ìle festival in late May book out early, so reserve ahead and check the distillery website for the current tour list and opening hours.
Bowmore: quick answers
Who owns Bowmore?
Suntory Global Spirits, formerly Beam Suntory, has owned Bowmore since 1994.
Where is Bowmore made?
Bowmore is made in the town of Bowmore, on the shore of Loch Indaal on the Isle of Islay, Scotland.
How do you pronounce Bowmore?
It is usually said as bow-MORE, with the first part rhyming with “go”.
Is Bowmore peated?
Yes, but only moderately. At about 25 ppm phenols it is gentler than Laphroaig or Ardbeg, with smoke balanced by honey, citrus and sea salt.
Is Bowmore the oldest distillery on Islay?
It is generally counted as the oldest, with a founding date of 1779.
Is Bowmore a good first Islay whisky?
Yes. The 12 Year Old is one of the more approachable Islay malts, and a common recommendation for people who want to try peat without the full medicinal punch.
Is Bowmore a single malt?
Yes. Bowmore is a single malt Scotch whisky, made from malted barley at a single distillery. See our single malt section for more.
Thomas Grønvold is the founder of Caskable and a whisky enthusiast who believes the best way to learn about whisky is simply to drink it, compare it, and stay curious. From supermarket favourites to bottles from distilleries around the world, he writes about what he actually tastes and experiences, without pretending you need to be an expert to enjoy a good dram.
Related distilleries
Laphroaig Distillery
Islay’s medicinal, peat-smoked single malt, made on the island’s south coast since 1815.
Caol Ila Distillery
Islay’s biggest distillery, making clean, coastal peated malt on the Sound of Islay since 1846.
Ardbeg Distillery
Islay’s cult peat monster, made on the Kildalton coast since 1815 and saved from closure in the 1990s.
Glen Garioch Distillery
One of Scotland’s oldest distilleries: a malty, honeyed Aberdeenshire malt with its own floor maltings, owned by Suntory through Morrison Bowmore.