Signatory Bowmore 24 Year Symingtons

Distillery

Bowmore Distillery is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland and is the oldest on Islay that still exists, having been founded in 1779. It currently vies with Lagavulin to be the 2nd best-selling Islay Single Malt brand.

The Distillery itself lies within the town which shares its name and is right against the shoreline of Loch Indaal. Even though the distillery is on the coast, it can still be considered closest to the centre of Islay. The town of Bowmore only predates the distillery by less than two decades, and it was the first planned settlement in Scotland.

The town’s gridlike layout and construction were initiated in 1768 by Daniel Campbell the Younger, who was the owner of the Islay and part of Jura. He resided in the famous Islay House and planned the town of Bowmore to resettle residents from the village of Kilarrow.  Kilarrow was situated close to Islay House, near what is now called Bridgend. It is said that Daniel the Younger felt that Kilarrow spoiled the view between Islay House and Loch Indaal. All that remains of the old village is a cemetery on Islay House property.

On the upside, Daniel the Younger did also build the now-famous Kilarrow Parish that is atop the hill in Bowmore. The church is famous for being entirely round so that it gives to corner for the devil to hide in. Bowmore and the Kilarrow Parish lay a little over 4km south of Bridgend and where the previous village existed. Currently, the town of Bowmore is populated by around 800 residents.

As for the distillery, Bowmore’s nearest neighbour is Bruichladdich, which is a 15-minute drive West along the coastal road A847 to the other side of Loch Indaal. Caol Ila Distillery is about a 20-minute drive to the East along the A846. If you head South from Bowmore the Port Ellen Maltings (and soon the rebuilt Port Ellen Distillery is about a 20-minute drive as well, and from there you can get to Laphroaig Distillery, Lagavulin and Ardbeg which all lie within 10 minutes drive from there.

Like Laphroaig, the Bowmore distillery is owned by parent company Beam Suntory. Also like Laphroaig, Bowmore is one of three distilleries on Islay to have its own on-site floor maltings and peat kilns, which are able to produce just about one-third of Bowmore’s needs for mashing and distillation.

Insert Peat Here: One of the Kilns At Bowmore Distillery

The 12 Year Old has been one of the core expressions in the Bowmore range for quite a while. Included in the core range are the no age statement Bowmore No.1, the 12 Year, 15 Year, 18 Year, and 25 Year Old. Various limited expressions have been available over the past few years, including the ongoing Vaults series, the Winemaker’s Trilogy. Currently, there are sparse independent bottlings available of Bowmore, and they tend to be expensive when they are released.

Independent Bottler

Signatory Vintage was established in 1988 by Andrew Symington. The quality of whiskies released by most Independent Bottlers can vary a lot, and be rather hit or miss. Signatory Vintage is an exception to this, and we have consistently been impressed by the quality of its offerings. Accordingly Signatory Vintage has been a staple in our shop for more than a decade.

One of the reasons for Signatory's consistently high level of quality is that it doesn't bottle casks in the hand-to-mouth fashion, of many other independent bottlers. But rather it purchases parcels of casks, storing them in their own warehouses, while patiently waiting for the whiskies to mature.

Originally located in Edinburgh, the business was moved to Pitlochry in 2002, after Symington purchased the Edradour Distillery from Pernod Ricard. Edradour is tucked into the hills above the scenic Highland town of Pitlochry. This farm distillery has a charming, rustic, and understated esthetic, which was maintained by Symington when building a new bottling facility and warehousing.

The distillery bottles single cask and small batch bottlings of both single malts and single grains. Its ranges include the Un-Chill Filtered and Cask Strength Collections. In 1988 the firm celebrated its 30th Anniversary with a range of specially chosen, exceptionally rare single casks.