Bowmore distillery was founded in 1779 by John P. Simson before ownership passed to the Mutter family, who held it until the distillery closed in 1915 for ten years, before being purchased and passing through various hands during the 20th Century before falling under a subsidiary of the current owner, Bean Suntory. This conglomorate has a vast spirits portfolio that includes, just in Scotland, the Ardmore, Auchentoshan, Bowmore, Glen Garioch, and Laphroaig distilleries, along with producing the McClelland’s single malt range. It has an annual production capacity of two million liters and the waste heat from the distillation process heats a nearby public swimming pool built in a former warehouse. Through a combination of longevity of operations and careful management, Bowmore currently houses the oldest and most diverse set of whiskies on Islay. The Bowmore 12 is the benchmark of the distillery’s core range, and features maturation in both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.
Old Pulteney 15 Year
Old Pulteney was founded in 1826 by James Henderson and names after Sir William Pulteney. Currently owned by Inver House Distillers, which is itself a subsidiary of international beverage company ThaiBev. As such, Old Pulteney is under the same umbrella as the Balblair, Balmenach, Knockdhu and Speyburn distilleries. The distillery has the capacity to produce up to a million liters of spirit a year and almost all of that seems to go into their single malts, a majority of which are still age statements today. They had a foray into more No Age Statement (NAS) offerings years ago that did not make the impact they hoped, so the brand relaunched with age statements again a priority. The Old Pulteney 15 is double matured, though no further details are given to indicate if it is a true blending of fully-matured single malts or more a case of finishing without calling it such.
Old Pulteney 12 Year
Wick is a town by the sea, and Old Pulteney is a distillery in and of the town, nicknamed The Maritime Malt. Built in 1826, Old Pulteney uses a Porteus mill that is a century old to process the barley used in distillation. Named after the Pulteneytown district of Wick, the distillery is one of the most northern on the mainland. After almost 200 years of near-constant operation, albeit closed temporarily during times of war or temperance, the distillery currently produces 900,000 liters of whisky a year. The flare near the top of the bottle is meant to evoke a copper pot still. The Old Pulteney 12 year is the definitive offering in their core portfolio and is aged exclusively in ex-bourbon casks.