FEATURES ARCHIVE

Lying off the West coast of Scotland, the island of Islay is a beautifully unspoilt land, rocky-edged and peat covered, and home to Islay single malt Scotch whisky. Islay is revered by connoisseurs across the world, and Bowmore is regarded by many as the best balanced of the Islay malts, characterized by its wonderfully rich and complex flavors.

One of the oldest distilleries in Scotland, Bowmore was established in 1779 by local merchant David Simson. A true pioneer, he built the distillery, distilled the whisky and introduced the new whisky to the world. The distillery was later taken over by James Mutter, then sold to John Sherriff of Campbeltown and became the Bowmore Distillery Company. In 1963, it was acquired by Stanley P. Morrison and although the distillery was substantially rebuilt, the original floor maltings and traditional whisky production methods were kept in place. The distillery is today owned by Morrison Bowmore Distillers.

Nestled on the shores of Loch Indaal, its close proximity to the sea is vital in determining the final character of Bowmore Scotch whisky, along with the traditional production methods handed down over generations. The distillery is one of only an ever decreasing handful that produce their own floor malted barley, and the barley is still laboriously hand turned by the Maltman. Bowmore is produced using water from the Laggan river which gathers the flavors of the rich Islay peat, and this same peat fires the malt drying kiln. The famous Bowmore Number 1 vaults are where the spirit spends nearly all its life resting quietly in damp cellars below sea level, battered by the waves of Loch Indaal - and the peat, barley, water, wood, people and tradition accumulate to create the subtle, warm and smoky character of Bowmore whisky.

Bowmore will play a central role in our next New York sale this November. Following on from our highly successful inaugural offering of spirits at Christie’s in New York in December 2007, we have consigned a second curated section of spirits, sourced from a wide variety of well-respected sources. We will begin the section with a fantastic consignment delivered directly from Bowmore . Called ‘The Bowmore Trilogy’, the three-bottle lot includes Bowmore Gold, recently released from the distillery and appearing for the first time in the United States at auction – to be offered for sale on 14 November.