Located in a village of the same name on the east coast of the Rhinns of Islay (Argyll and Bute), Bruichladdich Distillery lies on the shores of Loch Indaal, opposite Bowmore. The name derives from the Gaelic Bruthach a' Chladaich meaning 'brae of the shore', but the distillery is affectionately known as 'The Laddie'. The most recent of Islay's original distilleries which remains operational, Bruichladdich still occupies two and three-storey buildings around a courtyard which were purpose-built in 1881 by three brothers - Robert, William and John Harvey - although the brothers soon quarreled and William continued to run the distillery alone.
When it opened, the distillery was state-of-the-art and the same techniques, and much of same the equipment, continues in use today. The original cast-iron open mash tun is a rare survival, and the six Oregon pine washbacks have a total capacity of 210,000 litres. These are located above the stills to minimise the need for pumping. There are four copper pot stills; two 17,275-litre wash stills and two 12,274-litre spirit stills, the latter are unusually tall and narrow-necked. There is also a 15,500-litre gin still, known as Ugly Betty. Annual output reaches 1.75 million litres of spirit per year, with most of the whisky laid down in bourbon casks.
The distillery is able to source some of its barley from Islay, the remainder comes from elsewhere is Scotland. All is currently malted in Inverness, although Bruichladdich have announced their intention to build their own maltings next to the distillery. Most water comes from a small reservoir nearby but Octomore spring-water is used to dilute the whisky from cask strength for bottling. The spirit is bottled on-site.
Bruichladdich struggled to make a profit in the early 20th century, and operation was suspended between 1907 and 1919, only surviving because there was a good stock of whisky that could be sold. Distilling stopped once again in due to the economic depression of the late 1920s and did not restart until 1935. Harvey died the following year. The distillery was successively sold, mothballed, re-opened and sold again over the next 60 years, until it was bought by a group of private investors and whisky enthusiasts in 2000. They employed Jim McEwan (b. 1948) as Production Director and Master Distiller, and Duncan MacGillivray as General Manager. The stock of whisky in the warehouses was used to fund the return of Bruichladdich. On a shoestring budget, the buildings and old equipment were refurbished, and a quality spirit began flowing from its stills in 2001. The distillers have made an asset out of their ancient equipment, emphasising traditional production methods, with little in the way of automation.
The distillery was sold once again in 2012, bought by the French drinks conglomerate Rémy Cointreau for £58 million. It currently employs 80 people, making this the largest private employer on the island. The number of limited-edition bottlings which has been produced to fund the rebirth of the distillery had given rise to a vast and potentially confusing product range, so the new owners set about a rationalisation. The distillery now produces three brands of single malt whiskies, together with Botanist gin, which was launched in 2011. The whiskies are named Bruichladdich, which is unpeated, Port Charlotte, which is heavily-peated, and Octomore, marketed as the most heavily-peated single malt whisky in the world. In recent years, Bruichladdich has become known for its trend-setting labelling and turquoise bottles. There is a visitor centre and a shop.
Webcams were installed in the re-opened distillery to allow internet visitors to watch the ongoing production process. In 2003, the BBC and The Times newspaper reported a rather far-fetched story suggesting these webcams were being monitored by the US Defence Threat Reduction Agency in relation to weapons of mass destruction.
