Islay · Great Britain
Bowmore Distillery
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Bowmore – the first documented distillery on Islay, founded in 1779. One of the oldest in Scotland. Islay single malts are known for their smoky character – and Bowmore is no exception. What makes it special? It malts its own barley, still using skills passed down through generations. One of the few distilleries still producing barley malted on the floor. Manually turned with traditional wooden malt shovels. The water of the Laggan River imparts a light peat note, while the island's rich peat heats the still. The result: a perfectly balanced single malt. Islay as it should be.
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International Wine & Spirit Competition 2024
Awarded by International Wine & Spirit Competition
About Bowmore Distillery
Isle of Islay Argyllbowmore.com
Bowmore Distillery –
Islay Single Malt with peat, tradition, and its own malt
Bowmore is the oldest documented distillery on Islay – founded in 1779, when the island barely knew roads. Since then, a single malt has been distilled here that is as closely linked to its origin as almost any other: the water comes from the Laggan River, and the peat is cut directly on the island and fuels the kiln, which gives the malt its characteristic smoke.
What distinguishes Bowmore from most other distilleries is its own malting floor. Floor-malted barley, turned manually with traditional wooden malt shovels – a craft that only a handful of distilleries worldwide still practice today. This care in raw material processing is not a marketing promise, but palpable in the glass: the whiskies show a depth that industrially malted barley rarely achieves.
The style is typical Islay – peat, smoke, sea air – but never one-dimensional. Bowmore balances this power with a soft, slightly sweet base that tolerates long cask aging and unfolds in layers in the glass. Whether young and direct or aged for decades: a whisky that never denies its origin.