The first bottling of the new era for Bruichladdich is being launched.

The Islay distillery saved from extinction is now ready to show off its inaugural dram. The distillery was closed down in 1994, the staff sacked, machinery left to the vagaries of Hebridean weather, and with scant hope of being resurrected. Yet, in 2001 under new, private ownership and six months of stripping down every nut and bolt of the old Victorian machinery, the 'old lady danced again'.

Bruichladdich was built in 1881 by the Harveys, the dynastic distilling family. The three brothers, in their twenties, used their late father’s bequest. Using over a century of distilling know-how, they designed a state-of-the-art-distillery to make the purest spirit possible and nothing since has changed. Company founder and MD Mark Reynier: “This is a celebration bottling - our first Bruichladdich, the resurrection of a legend, the realisation of a dream. Our Resurrection Dram is a testament to the inspired – the Harvey brothers, their avant-guard distillery design and today’s vibrant team of distillers. It is the embodiment of a new era, returning to a more artisan, old-fashioned, quality way of doing things - like Jim McEwan’s ‘trickle-distillation’.

”In contrast to heavily-peated Port Charlotte and the mighty peat of Octomore, Bruichladdich itself retains the traditional, minimal peat level of 3-5 ppm. However, casks for this first bottling alone were surprisingly selected from a small, one-off distillation of lightly-peated barley, at an experimental 10 ppm.The whisky, a pale gold colour after maturing in premium quality American oak, was naturally bottled, without chill-filtration and colouring-free, on Islay. “Our progressive outlook is inextricably linked to our Hebridean heritage -which means Bruichladdich will always stand out from the crowd.

“2001 is a Spirit Odyssey, an exciting journey into the new millennium.”