Loading
  • LOGIN
  • HELP?
    • CONTACT
    • NEWSLETTER
    • FAQ
  • ISLAY
  • TERROIR
  • BARLEY
  • TOURS
  • 0Shopping Cart
Bruichladdich Distillery
  • BRUICHLADDICH
  • PORT CHARLOTTE
  • OCTOMORE
  • PHILOSOPHY
    • Bruichladdich
    • Progressive

      Progressive
    • Hebridean

      Hebridean
    • Distillers

      Distillers
  • NEWS & EVENTS
  • LADDIE TV
  • SHOP
  • Search
  • Menu

Chloe Wood’s valinch

IN Laddie People 14th August 2017/by Jane Carswell
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Google+
  • Share by Mail

“Taking Islay with me will be easy…” says Chloe Wood who’ll be 23 this month and is setting off to work for us in Singapore from September.

She says that her favourite place is her home at Octofad, the farm her grandfather originally moved to from the mainland. “It was a beautiful place to grow up”.

Octofad lies four miles south of Port Charlotte and above the ancient site of Nerabus. High on the hill, it has amazing views over Loch Indaal to the paps of Jura.

The Wood family have done many things over the years. Octofad was originally a dairy farm supplying Islay Creamery before that shut down in 2000. Chloe was just 6 at the time. They moved into beef cattle soon afterwards but they have also raised sheep, run a B&B, cut peats, and provided the base for father Andrew Wood’s contracting and construction business.

Then, says Chloe, “About seven or eight years ago, the boys built some big grain sheds to hold and dry all of the barley for the farmers that grow for Bruichladdich. It’s become quite an operation.”

Sports-mad Chloe is a qualified coach for hockey, rugby, badminton, football, and swimming and was a lifeguard before the opportunity at Bruichladdich came up. At school, she enjoyed physics and geography but Mandarin will be the first language to which she’s applied herself. “I’m going to give it a go for a few years for sure.” she says.

After leaving school, Chloe somewhat reluctantly accepted a place at Stirling University to study Sports Science but found, “I wanted to come back and do something that’s practical. I just wanted a job that I could progress at through working.”

Three and a half years ago, aged 18, she joined the Laddieshop team – “The Laddieshop is the University of Learning for all things Bruichladdich – you get to hear it all, see it all, taste it all, and learn it all in there!”

Soon she was promoted to host international visitors and run the Academy programme at the Distillery. Her cousin Josh works in the warehouse team, and some of her best friends are also colleagues.

Asked what she’ll miss most about Islay when she arrives in Singapore, she says straightaway, “The people and the landscapes. I don’t think I’ll have a lot of time where Islay folk won’t be there, to be honest. I think everyone in the distillery has planned a trip to Singapore already! I’ll need to make sure I’ve got a big apartment….”

Her parents have already booked their tickets to visit. It will be their first holiday in a long time. Chloe says that what she has learned from their approach and her experience is, “Hard work, time and effort. If you put those three things in, you’ll do pretty well in life.”

It’s a formula that is certainly working well for Chloe.

Chloe Wood’s valinch is our 28th single cask in the sequence, available in the Laddieshop while stocks last. It is a Sauternes cask, number 780, aged 12 years, 48.8% ABV. 

Watch our iPhone video of Chloe’s Islay here:

Popular articles from the newsdesk

VIEW ALL 12 /Barley 1 /Bruichladdich Whisky News 0 /Collaborations 0 /Events 0 /EVENTS 0 /Exploring history 1 /FAQ 0 /Laddie People 4 /Making Whisky 0 /New Releases 2 /Terroir 0 /The Distillery 3 /Transparency 1
Budgie Maintaining the old distillery boiler
Laddie People

The Budgie – 25 years at Bruichladdich

17th October 2014/by Carl Reavey
The Distillery

Orkney Growers Visit Bruichladdich

29th January 2019/by Christy McFarlane
Kevin Johansson
Laddie People

Kevin Johansson – Distillery Ambassador & Academy Host since 2016

26th June 2018/by Christy McFarlane
A summer pause
The Distillery

A summer pause

1st August 2013/by Carl Reavey
The iconic Whisky still has been in place since 2005
The Distillery

The Whisky still has gone. Long live the still.

5th February 2015/by Carl Reavey
PC12
New Releases

Port Charlotte PC12 Launched

14th January 2015/by Carl Reavey
Building a bike for the 'Ride of the Falling Rain"
Laddie People

Building a bike for the ‘Ride of the Falling Rain”

30th July 2015/by Carl Reavey
Adam Hannett - Does barley variety affect the whisky flavour?
Barley

Does barley variety affect the whisky flavour?

11th August 2016/by Carl Reavey
Scotch and Sci-Fi review
Transparency

Scotch and Sci-Fi on Scottish Barley and Octomore 6.2

21st January 2014/by Carl Reavey
bere barely 2006
New Releases

Bere Barley 2006 Whisky – a personal review

26th June 2013/by Carl Reavey
Bruichladdich-Beach-Rugby-team-2017
Laddie People

“Black Art” win the 2017 Beach Rugby tournament

13th June 2017/by Carl Reavey
Farming
Exploring history

How has farming changed over the last 250 years?

7th August 2019/by Jez Fredenburgh
Load more
You are here: Home / News / Bruichladdich Whisky News / Laddie People / Chloe Wood’s valinch
© BRUICHLADDICH DISTILLERY, ISLAY.Triman Logo
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • CONTACT
  • TRADE
  • TERMS
  • PRIVACY
  • RETURNS
Octomore Eights – a Masterclass Octomore 8 series Islay Campbell Bruichladdich distillery history Islay Campbell Remembers
Scroll to top
Bruichladdich Distillery
Due to regulations in your own country of residence, you cannot access this website

By entering you accept the use of cookies to enhance your user experience and collect information on the use of the website. Find out more

JOIN US FOR EXCLUSIVE NEWS & WHISKIES

STAY IN TOUCH WITH US HERE ON ISLAY - NEW & EXCLUSIVE BOTTLINGS, LOCAL EVENTS, DIGITAL TASTINGS AND OTHER LADDIE MAGIC.
Email address
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. You are free to unsubscribe at any time.

Terms & Conditions | Privacy