Whisky - UK (2020-05)

Issue 167 | Whisky Magazine 39

GETTING TECHNICAL

Water source: Margadale Spring.

The only distillery on Islay to produce

whisky using pure spring water

Malt: Unpeated and peated (peated to

35-45ppm) – Laureate variety

Mashing: Traditional 12.5 tonne

stainless steel, copper-topped mash

tun. 12-hour mash cycle

Fermentation: 6 Oregon pine wash

EDFNVOLWUHVFDSDFLW\ÀOOHG

with 66,500 litres). 55-100 hours

fermentations

Distillation: 2 x wash stills – onion-

shaped (charge 16,625 litres), 2 x

spirit stills – pear-shaped (charge

9,500 litres)

Production capacity: 2.5mla

the 1960s, meant that the complement

of stills was doubled from two to four

‹ͳͻ͸͵ǡƒ†–Š‡βŽ‘‘”ƒŽ–‹‰•…‡ƒ•‡†

operation in the same year.

The distillery’s fortunes took a dip in

the early 1980s, however, when over-

production led to the closure of many

Scottish distilleries, and Bunnahabhain

was silent from 1982 to 1984, only

‘’‡”ƒ–‹‰ƒ–ƒŽ‘™Ž‡˜‡Ž‘ˆ’”‘†—…–‹‘

for several years thereafter.

The late 1980s saw Bunnahabhain

‡‡”‰‡ƒ•ƒ•‹‰Ž‡ƒŽ–ǡ–Š‘—‰Š‘•–

of the distillery’s output was for the

„Ž‡†‹‰˜ƒ–•ǡƒ††”‹‰–‘ǯ•‡›

brands, Famous Grouse, Cutty Sark,

and from 1995, Black Bottle, after the

company acquired the blend and made

‹–•Žƒ›Ǧ…‡–”‹…‹’”‘β‹Ž‡Ǥ

Ž–‹ƒ–‡Ž›ǡ†”‹‰–‘†‡…‹†‡†–‘

…‘…‡–”ƒ–‡‹–•‡‡”‰‹‡•‘ƒ•ƒŽŽ

—„‡”‘ˆ•–”ƒ–‡‰‹…ǡŠ‹‰Š’”‘β‹Ž‡•‹‰Ž‡

malt brands such as The Macallan

ƒ†‹‰ŠŽƒ†ƒ”ǡƒ†ƒ……‘”†‹‰Ž›

•‘Ž†‘ˆˆ

Ž‡‰‘›‡ƒ†—ƒŠƒ„Šƒ‹

†‹•–‹ŽŽ‡”‹‡•†—”‹‰ʹͲͲ͵Ǥ

Bunnahabhain and Black Bottle

were subsequently purchased by Burn

Stewart Distillers plc for £10 million,

™‹–Š–Š‡…‘’ƒ›ƒŽ”‡ƒ†›‘™‹‰

‡ƒ•–‘‹•–‹ŽŽ‡”›‹‡”–Š•Š‹”‡ǡƒ†

Tobermory on the island of Mull.

ʹͲͳ͵•ƒ™ƒ‘–Š‡”…Šƒ‰‡‘ˆ

stewardship, when Burn Stewart’s

‘™‡”•‘”Ž†”ƒ†•ƒ†‰‘•–—”ƒ

sold its Scottish operations to South

African-based The Distell Group for

£160 million.

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