Bowmore Distillery

Overview

Bowmore is the oldest “legitimate” distillery on Islay, and the second oldest in Scotland. The distillery is a central feature of the town of Bowmore, so you will never struggle to find the distillery when you are in the town. Bowmore is one of the few distilleries that malts its own barley on site. The tour will give you the chance to try your hand at turning the barley on the malting floors. A skill that is harder than you think! The sight and smell of a large room covered from wall to wall with a thick floor of barley is quite novel and one that the local Sparrows seem to think is heaven. 

When we visited during the Islay Whisky Festival, we were treated to tasting the Malt at different stages through its maturation in the cask. This meant tasting the spirit in 5 stages straight from the still through to a sample of the 10yr old. We’re not sure if this is something that all visitors are treated to, but you may want to leave the car behind when you visit Bowmore.

Specialist tasting tours called the "Legendary NO.1 Vaults Warehouse Tasting" are available (Tues - Sat at 1:30pm), BUT only with advanced booking. These tours cost £65 per person. Definitely don't drive after these!!!