- Bowmore Distillery
Infobox Scottish Distillery
Name = Bowmore
Type = Islay
Image size = 250
Caption =
Location =
Owner =Suntory
Founded = 1779
Status = Operational
Source = River Laggan, Islay
Stills = 2 wash
2 spirit
Capacity = 1,700,000 L
Brand 1 = Bowmore
Type 1 =
Age 1 = Legend
12-year-old
15-year-old
18-year-old
25-year-old
Cask 1 = American Oak (86%)
Sherry (14%)
ABV 1 =Bowmore (pronounced "Boh-more") is a
distillery that producesscotch whisky on the isle ofIslay , an island of theInner Hebrides .cite book | last = Morrice | first = Philip | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Schweppes Guide To Scotch | publisher = Alphabooks | date = | location = Sherborne, Dorest, England | pages = 340-342 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0 906670 99 2 ] The distillery, which lies on the South Eastern shore ofLoch Indaal , is one of the oldest inScotland , having been established in 1779. The distillery is owned by Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd, a holding company owned by Japanese drinks companySuntory . Morrison Bowmore also own theAuchentoshan and Glen Garioch distilleries and produces theMcClelland's Single Malt range of bottlings.History
The Bowmore Distillery was allegedly established in 1779 by a local merchant, John P Simpson, before passing into the ownership of the Mutter family, a family of German descent. James Mutter, head of the family also had farming interests and was
Vice Consul representing theOttoman Empire ,Portugal andBrazil through theirGlasgow consulate s. There are no records that pinpoint the date Mutter acquired the distillery from Simpson. Mutter would introduce a number of innovative processes to the distillery during his tenure, and he even had a small iron steam ship built to importbarley andcoal from the mainland, and to export the whisky to Glasgow. A bottle of Bowmore Single Malt sold at auction during September 2007 for £29,400.cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Rare Scotch whisky tops world record auction price | date=2007-09-28 | publisher=Google | url =http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jR5M4RNJULubGMyzN1ZUQg_xf-dg | work =Agence France-Presse | pages = | accessdate = 2007-10-10 | language = ]The distillery was bought from the Mutter family during 1925 by "J.B. Sheriff & Co" and remained under their ownership before being purchased by
Inverness based "William Grigor & Son, Ltd." in 1950.The distillery, like most in Scotland, was mothballed during the World Wars, with the Bowmore Distillery hosting the
RAF Coastal Command for much ofWorld War II , Coastal Command operatedflying boat s from Loch Indaal onAnti-submarine warfare missions.Stanley P Morrison and James Howat formed "Stanley P. Morrison Ltd." in 1951, and this company, formed "Morrison's Bowmore Distillery, Ltd." in 1963 in order to takeover the Bowmore Distillery. Stanley P. Morrison died in 1971 and control of the companies passed to James Howat and his family. The company name has changed slightly and following minor restructuring, the distillery is now owned by "Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd.", which is ultimately owned by the Japanese distiller
Suntory , following their takeover of "Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd.", during 1994. Suntory had previously been a shareholder in Morrison Bowmore for several years.cite book | last = Milroy | first = Wallace | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Original Malt Whisky Almanac - A Taster's Guide | publisher = Neil Wilson Publishing | date = | location = Glasgow, Scotland | pages = 107 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-1897784686 ]Production
Bowmore Distillery sources as much
barley as possible from on the island of Islay, however there are insufficient quantities produced to satisfy the distillery's demand, and barley is also imported from the mainland. The distillery retains a traditional floor malting but this also lacks sufficient capacity and the barley imported from the mainland is normally already malted.The distillery has an annual capacity of 2,000,000
litres , with fermentation undertaken in traditional wooden washbacks, before the liquid is passed through 2 wash stills and then through 2 spirit stills. cite web|url=http://www.scotchwhisky.net/distilleries/bowmore.htm |title=Bowmore Distillery - The Distilleries of Scotland |accessdate=2007-10-10 |work=scotchwhisky.net ]The waste heat from the distillation process goes to heat a nearby public
swimming pool which was built in one of the distilleries former warehouses. cite web|url=http://www.islayinfo.com/bowmore.html |title=Bowmore - Isle of Islay administrative capital |accessdate=2007-10-10 ]Morrison Bowmore bottles all whisky produced at Bowmore Distillery and their other distilleries at a facility in
Springburn ,Glasgow . cite web|url=http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.com/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmscotaf/419/4031602.htm |title=House of Commons - Scottish Affairs - Minutes of Evidence |accessdate=2007-10-10 |date=2004-04-28 |work=Hansard |publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ]Awards
* Distiller of the Year 2000, 2002, 2003 cite web|url=http://www.bowmorescotch.com/html/awards.html |title=Bowmore Scotch |accessdate=2007-10-10 |work=bowmorescotch.com ]
* Best of Show (multiple years multiple awards)
* Double Gold (multiple years multiple awards)Bowmore has won more awards than any other single malt scotch whisky.
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