Bruichladdich Distillery

Bruichladdich is the most unusual distillery on Islay. It makes the island’s best-known unpeated malt, the Laddie, and also two of its most extreme peated ones, Port Charlotte and Octomore, from the same Victorian buildings on the shore of Loch Indaal. It was built in 1881, closed in the 1990s and then reopened in 2001 by a team of enthusiasts, and that restart story is a large part of its appeal. If you want to see how varied Islay can be, this is the place to start.

Who owns Bruichladdich?

Bruichladdich is owned by Rémy Cointreau, the French group behind Rémy Martin cognac and Cointreau. It bought the distillery in 2012 for about £58 million, and the sale also included The Botanist, the gin that is made on site. Before that, the distillery was run by a group of private investors, who bought it in 2000 and brought it back to life.

That makes Bruichladdich unusual among the big Islay names, most of which belong to larger groups such as Diageo or Suntory. For the wider picture of which company owns which whisky, see our guide to who owns what in whisky.

The history of Bruichladdich Distillery

Bruichladdich was built in 1881 by the Harvey family, who were already running distilleries in Glasgow. The name is said to come from the Gaelic for the bank of the shore, which describes the site well. It passed through a series of owners and was closed several times over the following century, and it was shut again in 1994.

In 2000 a group of private investors, led by the wine merchant Mark Reynier, bought the distillery and the old stock, and production started again in 2001. The team kept the old equipment, including the cast-iron mash tun, and worked with very little automation. Under its head distiller, Jim McEwan, it began making peated Port Charlotte and the heavily peated Octomore alongside the Laddie. To place it against its neighbours, read the Islay whisky boom and our beginner’s guide to Islay whisky.

How Bruichladdich is made

Bruichladdich makes its whisky from malted barley, water and yeast, and it works with a very traditional set-up, using Victorian equipment and a deliberate lack of automation. A big part of its identity is where the barley comes from. It works with Scottish barley, and some of it is grown on Islay itself, which is why the island-grown bottlings are labelled as such. The distillery also bottles its whisky on the island, which is unusual.

The standard Bruichladdich spirit, in the Laddie, is made from unpeated malt. Port Charlotte is peated to around 40 ppm phenols, and Octomore, made in separate runs, is among the most heavily peated whiskies in the world, with some releases far above 100 ppm. Our guide to how peat works in whisky explains what those numbers mean. The distillery has four copper pot stills, two for the first distillation and two for the second, plus a separate still used for The Botanist gin. For the wider context, see how whisky is made.

Why does Bruichladdich make three different styles?

It is a way of showing how much of the flavour comes from the malt and the cask instead of the island itself. Using the same site, stills and water, the distillery can make a floral, barley-sweet whisky in the Laddie, a smoky and maritime one in Port Charlotte and an extreme one in Octomore. For many drinkers, trying all three side by side is the best lesson in what peat does.

The Bruichladdich range

Bruichladdich bottles most of its whisky at 46% or above, without chill filtration or added colour. The three main families are:

• The Classic Laddie (50% ABV), the unpeated entry bottle: floral, sweet barley and sea salt. Read our Classic Laddie review.
• The Laddie Ten (50% ABV), an older, richer take on the same style, with a ten-year age statement. See our note on age statements versus NAS.
• Islay Barley (50% ABV), made from barley grown on the island and released as single-year bottlings.
• Port Charlotte (50% ABV), the peated line, named after a village on the island, with smoke, sweetness and a salty finish.
• Octomore, the extreme peated line, released in numbered batches at cask strength. See our guide to cask strength whisky.

New to the brand? Start with the Classic Laddie, then try Port Charlotte to see the other side. To see how the island’s heavier names compare, read Laphroaig vs Ardbeg vs Lagavulin, and try our Kilchoman Machir Bay and Bunnahabhain 12 reviews for two other ways Islay can taste. Bruichladdich also makes The Botanist, a gin flavoured with local plants, which is not a whisky but is worth knowing about if you visit.

How to drink Bruichladdich

The Classic Laddie is easy to drink neat, and a drop of water makes it more floral. It also works well in a highball with soda or tonic, and it is a good first Islay if you are not ready for smoke. Port Charlotte is better neat or with a few drops of water, while Octomore is a whisky to sip slowly in small measures. If you are new to the style, our beginner’s guide to Islay whisky suggests an order to try things in.

Visiting Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay

The distillery stands in the village of Bruichladdich, on the west shore of Loch Indaal, directly across the water from Bowmore and about three miles from Port Charlotte. It is one of the easiest to combine with a drive round the loch. The visitor centre offers tours and tastings, and its distinctive turquoise bottles and shop are a draw in their own right. Islay is reached by ferry from Kennacraig, or by a short flight from Glasgow. 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.

Bruichladdich: quick answers