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Fundamentally we believe in natural whisky – no chill-filtration or colouring


We have a natural curiosity. We are fascinated by the many influences on maturing spirit – oak, air, humidity, cask size and particularly cask origin.

Our preferred whisky strength is 50% – diluted down from natural cask strength with our treasured Islay spring water.

We have a natural curiosity. We are fascinated by the many influences on maturing spirit – oak, air, humidity, cask size and particularly cask origin. For too long the industry has compromised on barrel quality; we have put in place a comprehensive wood policy with no expense spared.

We are unashamedly experimental in our cask use. What many critics of wine barrel maturation forget is that the use of Bourbon casks, and before that the now revered sherry butts, was once also considered a radical departure and no doubt “dangerous experimentation”. The Scottish whisky producer only turned to sherry butts when supply of his favourite Gascony wine barrels was interrupted by (frequent) war with France in the 19th century. For our part we have (re-) introduced the subtle integration of French oak from the best wine estates in the world. Simply, these winemakers use the very best oak in the world, so the contribution of this extra maturation on our single malt is more complex, profound and nuanced than many give it credit for.

This is about authenticity and provenance, and is a product of our unending curiosity to explore the true and complex nature of this fantastic spirit


So while we have a deep respect for classic Bourbon-aged Scotch – our Scottish Barley single malt is a fine example – our head distiller, Adam Hannett, also uses his knowledge of wood, to create a number of subtle “cuvées”; some, like Champagne, are married from across the ages to create a specific character; others, married from different wood or cask types, or barley varieties, including those organicly grown. Some are even from single estates, single terroir, many extolling the attributes of a single vintage.

This is not gimmickery or meddling, and it’s certainly not marketing. This is about authenticity and provenance, and is a product of our unending curiosity to explore the true and complex nature of this fantastic spirit, Bruichladdich single malt.

We look for balance, harmony and complexity. We want a brain-stimulating experience, that satisfies the soul, that develops in the glass and evolves on the palate, and lingers in the mind.

We directly challenge the tyranny of the arbitrary age statement – is a 20-year-old necessarily any better than a 16½-year-old? If several vintages together provide more complexity – why not? Is a single vintage always best? Can a 5 year-old out-perform a 30-year old?

By definition all our bottlings are artisanal, hand-crafted and small batch. We deliberately choose not to homogenise or standardise preferring individuality, character and perhaps a certain intellectual provocation.

You are here: Home / Progressive Hebridean Distillers – A ‘What if’ Philosophy / In the Vatting Hall
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WMD – THE STORY OF THE YELLOW SUBMARINE HAS BEEN FULL OF CHARACTER AND CHARACTERS RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING.

It started with our friend ‘Demolition Dave’ helping Duncan McGillivray and his gang to demolish the old Inverleven distillery – buying up all the old equipment for scrap and loading it onto barges on the Clyde. All so Duncan had some spares to keep Bruichladdich running in the days of No Money.

As this odd flotilla was being towed round the Mull of Kintyre and up to Islay, Laddie MD Mark Reynier received an email from the Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in the USA who had been monitoring distillery webcams on the grounds that our processes could have been ‘tweaked’ to produce the dreaded WMD. ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’.

Never one to allow the opportunity for a good story to pass him by, or to get his beloved distillery in the news, Reynier embellished the tale, which soon grew to involve spies and the CIA and visits by weapons inspectors. All of which made great headline-grabbing copy in the febrile media atmosphere then prevailing around WMD.

One of the stills from Inverleven was dutifully set up outside the old Victorian buildings, and became an iconic sight, with a pair of Duncan’s old wellie boots sticking out of the top to represent those weapons inspectors searching for dangerous chemicals deep in its copper bottomed interior.

A special bottling was commissioned (of course) and dubbed the ‘Whisky of Mass Distinction’ (geddit?) and much hilarity ensued. At least among the Laddies, the rest of the whisky industry having long since given up on the noisily irreverent rebels.

WMDII: A YELLOW SUBMARINE

Things were about to get even more eccentric because, shortly afterwards, Islay fisherman John Baker was heading home to Port Ellen when he spotted something awash in the sea off the bow of his boat. Being a resourceful man, he attached a rope to said object and towed it into the pier where Gordon Currie lifted it out of the water. It proved to be a very beautiful yellow submarine.

Very conveniently, the yellow vessel had ‘Ministry of Defence’ and a telephone number stencilled on it, which was of course immediately called. What happened next was to become the stuff of legend. He was connected to the Royal Navy. “I have found your yellow submarine” said John. “We haven’t lost a yellow submarine” said the Navy. Which was an odd response as the evidence to the contrary was overwhelming.

John and Gordon then loaded the submarine onto a lorry and took it to a secret location in Port Ellen (actually fellow fisherman Harold Hastie’s back garden). The local newspaper was called, then the nationals, and the following day the red-tops were full of pictures of the two friends astride the lethal-looking machine, carrying fishing rods, and asking: “Has anybody lost a yellow submarine?”

Hilarious… unless you were the Royal Navy – who did eventually admit to it being theirs. HMS Blyth, the minesweeper that lost it, eventually came to pick it up, slipping into the pier at dawn to winch it aboard. By that time, Bruichladdich had (of course) commissioned another bottling, WMD2: The Yellow Submarine, and a box of lovely liquid was graciously offered, and accepted by the captain as a goodwill gesture.

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