The oldest working distillery of Islay was founded around 1779 or even earlier in 1766. It is one of six remaining Scottish distilleries to see traditional floor maltings (20-25 ppm). About 60% of malt needed is from maltsters from the mainland. Almost all production of 2 million litres (1.7 million litres in 2010) anually goes into malt bottling.

First-fill Bourbon casks, first-fill American oak hogsheads, first and second fill Sherry butts, some are warehoused on Islay, the majority is tankered to the mainland. There is only one dunnage warehouse on site, the famous No.1 Vault. There are more dunnage and racking warehouses near Bowmore at Low Road. 80% are fresh Bourbon barrels from Kentucky, 20% are fresh Sherry butts from Andalucia. About 26-27,000 casks or about 5.5 million litres of spirit are stored on Islay.

The distillery is carbon-footprint orientated as the waste energy system heats the communal swimming pool and the visitor centre.  At Bowmore Distillery there is one of the most beautiful new stylish tasting rooms facing Loch Indaal. Scenic views go along with a wee dram. Excellent, but expensive craftsman tours.

Special: In 2011 three stills were completely refurbished. David Turner, Head Distiller of Bowmore, gave permission to use his photos of Bowmore Stills Repairs: „I am happy for you to use my photos, it's good for people to see how Still repairs are done, it's heavy and noisy work.“

Character: some sweetness and some peat smoke, full bodied dram. Some with Sherry notes.

Distillery Manager: David Turner (2014)

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