Bruichladdich

The Harvey Brothers

Bruichladdich was established in 1881 by three brothers: William, Robert and John Harvey. The brothers intended to produce an unpeated spirit, something made possible by the arrival of the Clyde Puffers, flat-bottomed boats that could easily transport coal from the mainland. The Puffers made it easier to avoid the reliance on peat that had, until then, shaped the style of the island’s whiskies.

The Harvey brothers owned two other distilleries in the city of Glasgow, Dundashill and Yoker, and planned to combine the three to create a blending and bottling empire. Robert was in charge of the design of the new distillery whilst William was responsible for the funding and John had the distilling knowledge that would help to craft the spirit. As tends to happen with families, however, there was a falling out before the construction could be completed. John parted ways with his brothers, leaving William and Robert to run a remote islay distillery with no distilling expertise between them. Somehow the brothers made a go of it but found themselves heavily reliant on selling their whisky to the big blending houses on the mainland, none of whom, had a huge desire to source unpeated whisky from Islay – not when they could fulfill their quotas much closer to home.

Robert Harvey passed away in 1892, leaving William in sole charge of Bruichladdich. The distillery struggled on, accumulating debt until things came to a head in 1907. William was forced to sell to Robertson & Baxter, who used the surviving stocks to clear the debts. The change in ownership marked the beginning of tumultuous times for the distillery and the decades that followed saw owners come and go with various periods of closure but somehow, Bruichladdich kept going. For a time, at least.

The Whisky Loch

Bruichladdich was taken over by Invergordon Distillers in 1968. The Scotch industry was enjoying something of a boom and single malts were beginning to appear on the market, some for the first time. Whilst the likes of Laphroaig was becoming a name in its own right, however, Bruichladdich continued to sell its spirit to blenders, totally reliant on the health of the wider market for its own survival.

Unsurprisingly, the good times of the 1960s and early 70s wouldn’t last. The next decade saw a shift in drinking habits with an increasing preference for white spirits like vodka leading to whisky being increasingly seen as an old man’s drink. The industry failed to heed the warning signs and carried on producing whisky on a massive scale. When the crash hit, it hit hard. The result was more whisky in warehouses than anyone knew what to do with. Unable to off-load the stocks they had, parent companies began mothballing distilleries and laying off staff. Production at Bruichladdich was intermittent at best, though it stumbled on until Invergordon was taken over by Whyte & MacKay in 1992. By then it had begun to fall into disrepair and the new owners decided to close it down. The future was beginning to look bleak.

One day as I was walking by the shore of Lochindaal,
I met a man with sadness in his eyes.
His story was as haunted as the lonely seabird’s call,
And he told me of the day, He wept and walked away,
As he watched the fire of Bruichladdich die.

– excerpt from Bruichladdich by Robin Laing

Jim McEwan

Several people played important roles in the rebirth of Bruichladdich but few are as recognised or as beloved as Jim McEwan. Born and raised in Bowmore, McEwan began his career as a cooper at the age of 15. He worked his way through several jobs at Bowmore Distillery before moving to Glasgow to learn the skills of the whisky blender. His return to the island saw him take up the mantle of Distillery Manager, often travelling the world to spread the word of Bowmore and Islay. McEwan wasn’t finished there, though. He had his eye on a new project. One that perched on the opposite bank of Loch Indaal. Waiting.

Bruichladdich was rescued from a sad end by Mark Reynier and Simon Coughlin, owners of the independent bottler, Murray McDavid. With the financial backing of several private investors, the two men were able to buy the distillery and any stocks that still lingered in its warehouses. In what would prove to be a real masterstroke, the pair approached Jim McEwan and offered him the role of Production Director.

McEwan developed a close working relationship with Distillery Manager Duncan McGillivray and the two set about the repair of the crumbling distillery. Through the hard work of the dedicated distillery team, Bruichladdich was soon creaking back to life and spirit began to flow from the old stills once again. McEwan’s expertise shaped the character and the quality of the new Bruichladdich and he was instrumental in the creation of the Port Charlotte, Octomore and Botanist brands.

In 2012, French family-owned drinks company, Remy Cointreau bought Bruichladdich but there was never any suggestion that the project would be led by anyone other than Mr McEwan. In fact, he remained at the helm for three more years, before finally deciding that it was time for the next chapter. McEwan retired from his role at Bruichladdich in 2015 but not before training his replacements in Allan Logan and Adam Hannett, thereby ensuring the distillery would remain in the safest of hands.