The Bowmore distillery is located in the middle of the village of the same name on Islay. It was built next to the harbour in the bay of Loch Indaal. The beautiful whitewashed distillery is the oldest whisky distillery on Islay.

Around a third of the whiskies ripen in sherry barrels at Bowmore, which is an extremely high proportion compared to other Islay distilleries. The whisky is not quite as intense as the malts in the south of the island, but it also has a high proportion of peat, which the ferruginous water, together with reed, moss and fern aromas, takes up. As the warehouses are located directly at the sea, it is not surprising that the whisky is strongly salty.

The most famous is the Black Bowmore, which was named after its colour. Today they have cult status and are traded at horrendous prices.