Bruichladdich

PROGRESSIVE HEBRIDEAN DISTILLERS BRUICHLADDICH

THE PRIDE OF ISLAY

Located on the southwestern tip of the remote Hebridean island of Islay, the Progressive Hebridean Distillers (PHD) distils four world-class spirits; The Botanist Dry Gin, and three exceptional single malt Scotch whisky ranges, the Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte 10 Years Old and the Octomore. It is the PHD mission to claim the highest provenance of Islay of any Islay producer.

The PHD philosophy is about distilling the character of the place of the spirit and the people behind it. It embraces terroir, distilling the essence of Islay in every dram and drop. The PHD ethos of authenticity, place and provenance has been passed down for generations from its Gaelic forefathers whose strong, resolute, tough, hard-working, emotional and enduring character is also the same qualities found in the spirit today. Always proudly nonconformist, the Western Isles, the Coast of the Gaels is traditionally known as the land of the outsider, people who do thing differently and rebel against the staid world of traditional whisky production. The people behind PHD today are obsessive and progressive with a passion to produce the most natural, thought-provoking, intellectually stimulating and enjoyable spirits possible.

Over the past two decades, Progressive Hebridean Distillers has strongly addressed these values of provenance, transparency and authenticity. All spirits are matured all their life in our warehouses on the side of Loch Indaal, Islay, gradually responding to the sea air and unique seasonal changes of Scotland’s west coast. Each cask is carefully watched over by our team, before being bottled in our Harvey Hall, using Islay spring water. PHD explores terroir in whisky by working directly with farmers and closing the loop on ultimate traceability. By terroir they mean the artisanal, living product that speaks of the place, of the people who have created and nurtured it; of the soil, the air, the geography that influence it. The Progressive Hebridean Distillers has made a commitment to championing an all-Islay process and has announced its plans to install on-site malting and building more warehouses on Islay to ensure all whiskies are matured on the island. PHD is proud to be a distillery that can claim all its whiskies are conceived, distilled, matured and bottled on Islay. But this is not just about preserving the signature salt-citrus tang character that comes from

Islay maturation; the distillery’s hashtag is #weareislay and the team behind the brand stand committed to a mantra that is central to the essence of PHD Malts. Aligned with this is Progressive Hebridean Distillers’ commitment to the island and its community. PHD has eight distilleries on the island and although the second smallest producer, is the biggest employer of local talent, 80 per cent of which live and work on Islay.

PHD Malts fall into three different ranges, the unpeated Bruichladdich, the heavily peated Port Charlotte 10 Year Old and the super-heavily peated Octomore. Each of these ranges explores the influence of barley provenance, cask exploration and the passing of time (or age), sometimes all at once. Each bottle is unique and nuanced and celebrates variety within single malt, something that is underpinned by the distillery’s decision to not chill filter or use caramel colouring. It’s all about natural whisky at PHD.

100 per cent Scottish barley is malted to the heavyweight 40PPM for the Port Charlotte 10 Year Old. Trickle distilled through tall, narrow necked stills, the spirit is then filled into the finest ex-American and ex-French oak casks. The latest bottling has spent ten years in a combination of 65 percent first-fill ex-bourbon casks, 10 percent second-fill ex-bourbon casks and 25 percent second-fill ex-wine casks. It has been bottled onsite at the distillery, unchill filtered and colouring free, using Islay spring water at 50 per cent alcohol by volume. The Port Charlotte 10 Year Old demonstrates how a considered, slow distillation gives a sweet, barbeque smoked single malt – one that could is made through a commitment to the Islay process and the Islay people.

PHD has just purchased a croft that lies next to the distillery and has been planting barley trial plots there to experiment with barley varieties that may be better suited to Scotland’s wet west coast. The 100-strong-team is in stage three of building warehouses at the new site a mile down the road from the distillery and is starting on the planning process to fit onsite maltings. The distillery is always searching for new ways to improve the quality of its whisky and to trial new ways of doing things to create new and interesting tastes and flavours.

Regardless of the days, months or years, Progressive Hebridean Distillers continues to challenge itself to produce the best quality single malt. The distillery has a number of exciting barley projects in progress that may see some new and interesting whiskies released over the next few years.

The brand is investing heavily behind a number of different projects, and is driven to go from strength to strength as one of the best single malts on the market today.

PHD Malts stand for community, longevity, collective memory and proud nonconformism. They are the ways of the Western Isles and they are values that run deep in the PHD family and through every dram of its exceptional whisky.