Hugh Smith’s letter from Islay

Bowmore Distillery

STANDING on the south east shore of Lochindaal is Bowmore Distillery, certainly the oldest on the island and considered to be among the oldest in Scotland.

The distillery was established in 1779 by John P Simson, a local merchant, who also set up Kilarrow Distillery in 1766. The latter is likely to have been operating in the Bridgend district although its exact location is unknown and is now numbered among Islay’s lost distilleries.

Simson eventually sold the Bowmore distillery to twin brothers James and William Mutter who were of German extraction and had wide scientific farming interests. James was also the Vice Consul representing the Ottoman Empire, Portugal and Brazil through their Glasgow-based consulates.

During their tenure, the Mutters introduced a number of innovations to the island distillery and established the water supply which is still in use today.

They also had an iron steamship built, the SS James Mutter, to import barley and coal from the mainland and transport the Bowmore whisky to its Arches warehouses in Glasgow.

Following the Mutter ownership, the distillery was bought by J B Sheriff and Co who also owned the Lochindaal Distillery at Port Charlotte. They eventually sold their Port Charlotte distillery to Benmore Distillers in 1921. They were soon to be taken over by DCL and Lochindaal ceased to operate in 1929.

After 25 years, sheriffs sold Bowmore to the Inverness-based William Grigor and Son who, in turn, sold it to whisky broker Stanley P Morrison in 1963, when it became known as Morrisons Bowmore Distillery Ltd. During the Morrison ownership, vast improvements were carried out to the structure and distilling methods, and one of the warehouses was gifted to the community and now houses the MacTaggart Leisure Centre and swimming pool whose water is heated by residual heat from the distillery condensers.

Following Stanley P Morrison’s death in 1971, control of Bowmore, along with the Morrison-owned distilleries at Gartachosan and Glen Garioch, passed to his sons Brian and Tim, and the company became known as Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd.

The Japanese drinks giant Suntory, previous shareholders in Morrisons Bowmore, took over the company in 1994 and, now trading as Beam Suntory, it also owns Laphroaig Distillery as well as the Bowmore facility.

During the world wars, production at Bowmore stopped and throughout the 1939- 45 conflict the distillery housed the RAF’s Coastal Command which operated flying boats from Lochindaal on anti-submarine missions in the north Atlantic.

The Mutter connection was recalled 10 years ago when a bottle of 1850 Bowmore Single Malt, produced during the Mutter ownership, sold at auction at McTears in Glasgow for an amazing £29,400.

Medical conference

MORE than 60 medical students, some from as far as the south of England descended on the island’s Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle from March 9 to 12 to take part in a conference on remote and rural medicine.

The conference discussed the pros and cons of remote and rural medicine as well as giving the students an insight into the advantages and disadvantages of carrying out medical practices in rural areas and remote island communities.

The welcome and introductory talk was given by local GP Dr Angus MacTaggart, fresh from his chairman triumph at the recent Islay Gathering, who is an eager advocate and supporter of remote and rural medicine.

During the course of the threeday conference various speakers addressed such issues as emergency medical procedures, realistic medicine, patient transportation and limited facility problems.

Happily, it was not all nose to the grindstone as, lectures over, the students enjoyed some of the island’s varied attractions.

Hugh Smith, 4 Flora Street, Bowmore, Islay, PA43 7JX. Telephone: 01496 810658.