Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd.
Springburn Bond, Carlisle Street, Glasgow, Scotland
Visitors Centre: Open all year, Tel: 01496 810441.
Opening hours: Mon to Fri, Tours from 10.00am - Last Tour 15.30 (3.30pm)

BOWMORE DISTILLERY • TOUR TIMES
Daily tour times • 10:00,11:00, 14:00 and 15:00 • Saturdays • By appointment
Charges • £2.00 per person £1.00 O.A.P. Shop open Monday to Friday • 9:00 to 17:00
Visitor Centre Tel: 01496 810 671 • Distillery Tel: 01496 810 441 • Fax: 01496 810 757
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Yep it's a rip from www.scotchwhisky.com
Nestling in the hills above the shores of Loch Indaal is the village of Bowmore, considered to be the 'capital' of Islay. The distillery buildings are on the quayside. Bowmore Distillery was established in 1779 by a local merchant, one John Simpson. One of the earliest legal distilleries on the island, it was also owner-operated which, at that time, was unusual, since most proprietors on Islay leased out their distilleries. It was later taken over by one James Mutter and his family: Mutter, as well as being a farmer and distiller had the unlikely role of Ottoman, Portuguese and Brazilian Vice-Consul in Glasgow. Mutter considerably expanded the distillery and thus the Bowmore name began to travel and demand grew. The family kept the distillery until the 1890s when it was sold and became the Bowmore Distillery Co. During the Second World War the buildings were used as a coastal command base by the Air Ministry and the distillery was acquired by Stanley P. Morrison in 1963. Morrison's rebuilt and renovated many of the buildings, retaining the malting floors which are still used today.

From the book 'The Scottish Collection' Classic Malts by Carol P. Shaw :
Tasting notes : With its plesant aroma and peaty-fruty flavour, Bowmore is a good Islay malt for newcomers to these distinctive whiskies to try. Taste rating = 3
Established in the 1770's, Bowmore is reputed to be the oldest legal distillery on Islay. It stands in the island's main town and overlooks Loch Indaal, and its water is taken from the peaty River Laggan. The distillery has passed through several hands in the twentieth century, but it has been a consistently thriving concern since its acquision in 1963 by Stanley P. Morrison of Glasgow. The company is now Morrison Bowmore, and this is their flagship distillery.

From the Morrison Bowmore website:
Bowmore Distillery, one of the oldest in Scotland has stood on the shores of Loch Indaal, on the Hebridean Island of Islay, since 1779.
Its close proximity to the sea is vital in determining the final character of Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, as is the strict adherence to the traditional production methods handed down to Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd in 1963, by its four previous owners.
Bowmore Distillery is one of an ever decreasing handful of distilleries to produce its own floor malted barley. The barley is still laboriously hand turned, by the Maltman, using the traditional wooden malt shovel. Exactly as his father, grandfather and great grandfather did in the past.
Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky is produced using water from the Laggan River. Having spent 2000 years percolating through the rock in the hills above, the river gathers the flavours of the rich Islay Peat, the same Peat that fires the Malt drying kiln.
The famous Bowmore Vaults are where Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky spends nearly all of its life. For many decades it rests quietly in the damp cellars below sea level. The Spanish and American Oak Casks impart rich and mellow flavours to the maturing whisky.
Peat, water, wood, people and tradition accumulate to create the subtle, warm and smoky character of Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

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Source www.bbr.com :

Bowmore Distillery, Islay

Bowmore Distillery has been situated on the rugged Hebridean Island of Islay since 1779 and is the second oldest distillery in Scotland today. The location of the distillery on this wind swept Isle has played an important part in determining the legendary smoky and rich character of the single malt whisky it produces.

Bowmore Single Malt is produced using water from the nearby Laggan River which echo's the flavours of the Islay peat that is also used in the fires of the malt-drying kiln. The distillery is one of the last to have maintained a tradition of malting its own Barley by hand turning with wooden malt shovels.

The character of the single malts is further developed in the famous seaside vaults, where the whiskies are kept for up to 40 years in Spanish and American casks.