The Botanist: Islay
Islay
RUGGED. WILD. REMOTE. ISLAY IS LOCATED OFF THE WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND IN THE INNER HEBRIDES, AN ARCHIPELAGO OF SMALL ISLANDS.
The Island
It's a strange kind of alchemy that brought us here…
When we took over the historic Bruichladdich Distillery in 2000, it was in a state of semi-disrepair. But something about its place on the windswept banks of Loch Indaal appealed to their love of terroir.
Serene Islay is greener and gentler than many of her Hebridean sisters. The diverse landscape is a testament to the island’s rich geological tapestry, where limestone and mica schists cradle the lush lowlands, and resilient quartzites shape the rugged uplands.
Discover how this remarkable place breathes life into The Botanist now.
The Islay landscape
Big skies. Singing sands. Rising hills. Islay has a unique and exciting terroir. The air is thick with the scent of wild botanicals. From heather-clad moorland and whispering peat bogs to tranquil wetlands and salty marshes, the island’s diverse geology nurtures a wealth of natural wonders. Deciduous and coniferous woodlands stand sentinel, while rich grasslands and scrub forests sway gently.
Kissed by the warm embrace of the Gulf Stream, Islay enjoys a relatively mild climate. A distiller’s treasure trove, the island’s bounty of flora is rich with flavours and aromas not well used but found here in abundance. Apple Mint. Bog Myrtle. Hawthorn. Sweet Cicely… Their flavours and scents are the inspiration behind The Botanist.
Our Distillery
Whitewashed with a vivid turquoise trim, you can’t miss Bruichladdich Distillery, nestled on the windswept shores of Loch Indaal. Established in 1881, the distillery was one of the first purpose-built on the island.
Bruichladdich as we know it now was reborn in 2001 when a visionary team reignited its spirit.
With restorations underway, the team was desperately in need of spare parts. Luckily, a small malt whisky distillery on the mainland was being sold for scrap and it was there, amongst the haul of copper and stainless steel, that a remarkable discovery was made: an abandoned Lomond Still. An experimental hybrid of column and pot still, one of only six ever made. Now one of them was ours. And a bold idea began to take shape.
