Bruichladdich Distillery

The distillery was built in 1881 by the Harvey brothers, who owned the Dundashill and Yoker grain distilleries in Glasgow. By 1954 it become part of DCL, which quickly offloaded it to AB Grant. Since 1968, Bruichladdich went through several owners, first the Invergordon, then in 1993 it became part of Whyte & Mackay’s portfolio through a merger. From 1995 it went silent and reduced production, until 2001 when a group of Islay landowners and a London-based wine merchant bought it for £6 million. The new parents couldn’t afford any significant upgrades, money was needed desperately. For years they produced in bulk, which resulted in a less than quality-oriented wood policy, which necessitated re-racking some casks into fresh wood, including a huge range of ex-wine and fortified wine casks. Further investment went into the building of the bottling line.

In 2012 Rémy Cointreau bought Bruichladdich for £58 million. This made investment in new plant and machinery possible, and in the intervening years additional warehousing has been built on Islay. Today’s success moved the distillery forward to buying 30 acres of nearby farmland to conduct barley trials and test sustainable farming practices in 2019.