Bowmore

Bowmore is not only one of the oldest distilleries on Islay it is also one of the oldest in Scotland. It was founded on the shore of Loch Indaal in 1779 by local merchant John P Simpson. The distillery has changed hands on a number of occasions but overall has had a stable lifespan and was only ever shut down during the two world wars. It is now owned by Morrison Bowmore who in turn are owned by Suntory of Japan. Bowmore has four pot stills and almost all of its production goes into its own single malt bottlings. The distillery maintains its own floor maltings which produce a proportion of the malted barley need for production, the remainder coming from Port Ellen maltings.