Bruichladdich
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bruichladdich | ||
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| Region: Islay | ||
| Owner: | Bruichladdich Distillery Co Ltd | |
| Founded: | 1881 | |
| Status: | Operational | |
| No. of Stills: | 2 wash 2 spirit |
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| Capacity: | 700,000 litres | |
| Mothballed: | 1929-1936, 1994-2000 | |
| Bruichladdich | ||
| Age(s): | 2008/2009 Core Range: Rocks, Waves, Peat, 2001, 1998 Sherry Editions, 16-year-old, 18-year-old, 21-year-old. |
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| Cask Type(s): | Bourbon (70%), Sherry (15%) Wine (15%) |
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| Port Charlotte | ||
| Age(s): | First Cut, PC5, PC6, PC7 |
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Bruichladdich Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery on the Rhinns of the isle of Islay. It is one of eight distilleries on the island, and until the recent opening of Kilchoman the only independent one.
It was featured in an episode of the BBC2 series Oz and James Drink to Britain, in which they were given a tour of the factory and allowed to try some of the prized 'X4' malt spirit, of which it has been said that 1 spoonful will make you immortal, 2 blind and 3 dead.
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[edit] History
Bruichladdich was built in 1881 by the brothers Robert William and John Gourlay Harvey on the shore of Loch Indaal, on the Rinns of Islay, the westernmost part of the island. At the time, the distillery was state-of-the-art and the equipment continues to be used unchanged. Unlike other distilleries, which were often built from old farm houses, the building was erected specifically for this purpose. It was built from stone from the seashore and has a very efficient layout. At the centre of the buildings is a yard that holds the kiln to dry the malt and a steam engine to generate the electricity. The distillery changed owners and was out of use from 1929 to 1937. The distillery closed in 1994, but was purchased by Murray McDavid on 19 December 2000 and completely remodelled. Jim McEwan, who had worked at Bowmore Distillery, was hired as Production Director. The Victorian décor was mostly preserved. The machines, roasting ovens, and piping were completely removed and renovated by a team of engineers (local crofters, who also work in the distillery). In the entire distillery, not a single computer is used (apart from the ones in the offices and the webcams and such). It is, you might say, a museum of a distillery that is still in operation.
There is some modern controversy surrounding the distillery's advertised pronunciation of the name. They suggest brook-laddie, which incorporates a common mispronunciation of the Gaelic ch element.
[edit] Today
The distillery uses one mashtun (6.2 tonnes) and six washbacks (together, 210,000 litres). The still is composed of two wash stills (together 23,000 litres) and two spirit stills (together 21,000 litres), all heated by steam. The Harvey Bottling Hall has been running since 25 May 2003. This is the only distillery on Islay which bottles on-site. In May 2004, a cooperage hall was opened, and since December 2004, the malt used is grown on the island. There have been many vintages from the distillery, and a list of more than 200 of them can be found at the Bruichladdich Distillery and Bruichladdich Whisky Archive.
Bruichladdich is rumored to have been the focus of an intelligence operation by the (American) Defense Threat Reduction Agency (link) because its distilling equipment could also be used to make chemical weapons. This story has roots in an e-mail sent by an American agent to the distillery managers informed them that one of the distillery webcams had broken. It has been purported that the American was using the cameras to determine if WMD were being developed at the facility, though the text of the e-mail (link) received by the distillery throws this interpretation into question. Regardless of the veracity of these claims, Bruichladdich issued a limited run of commemorative bottles in honor of the story. Another limited run was issued when an Islay fisherman found a MoD submarine ROV, and a minor farcical affair ensued. Said run featured pictures of the ROV on the label.
In 2008, Bruichladdich launched 'Octomore', which was billed as 'the most heavily peated Single Malt Whisky in the world', with a peat level of 133ppm (parts per million).
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[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Bruichladdich official website
- Informative Bruichladdich whisky distillery web site
- The Unofficial Bruichladdich Blog
- grid reference NR265610
