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Camera Angles

Click on the image on the left to enlarge and see the position of the cameras at the distillery.

Still House - Looking down between the two sets of two stills at the spirit safe. The Budgie, Neil and Duncan are the guys you are most likely to see here.  No two distillations are ever the same: the stills are carefully monitored to ensure the delicate tight line between over vigorous or under distilling. Usually this is controlled by computer these days - but not here. We believe that this is best achieved by experienced stillmen; Neil has been tending these very stills for 30 years, so he knows exactly how they respond.

Spirit safe - At Bruichladdich we practise want is called a trickle distillation. there is not a huge flow of spirit, but a constant trickle.  The Spirit Safe is where the spirit,  having been vaporised in the stills, then recondensed (using water from the burn) is selected by the stillman.   The Blue rimmed vessel = Foreshots/Low wines/Feints which will be re-distilled.  The black rimmed vessel = The Middle Cut; this is the good stuff, this is whisky.  It will range from 71.5% to 68% alcohol - an unusually high cut off point. The carefully taken decision to re-direct the flow of spirit from  the blue to the black is the decision of the stillman and will reflect on the strength and quality of the spirit.  Called a 'safe'  (you can just see the Customs padlock on the right hand side) to prevent access to the spirit except in the company of the duplicate key holder, the Excise Man, to avoid it getting pinched in the old days.  From here the new spirit or 'whisky' (it has to be three years old before it can have that name) goes to a vat, prior to being filled in to casks. at 70% alcohol.

Mash House - 'Mashing' is the process of extracting the sugar from the flour and husks so that we have something that can then be fermented. This is Peter and Allen’s area.  It gets very hot in here - like a Turkish bath.  The 'grist' (sugar-rich barley flour and husks from the mill) are mixed with hot water that comes by pipe from the reservoir high in the hills behind the distillery.  The sugar molecules dissolve in the hot water (70 degrees) that peculates through the porridge-like mix; this is repeated four times at differing heats ( 70 - 100 degrees) but only the first two 'waters' are retained for cooling, via a heat exchanger, prior to filling in to the 'wash-backs' or large fermentation vats, where the sugar, under attack from yeast, will create alcohol - albeit a mere 5%. The big evil looking piece of kit in the middle of the Mash Tun rotates to keep everything from clogging up.  The draff (spent husks etc.) is removed through the floor of the mash tun and  via an Archemedes screw are taken to the rear of the building where the local farmers bring their tractors to take it away for feeding to their cattle.

Filling Store - This is where casks are filled with whisky, before being taken to their warehouse to rest for the next decade or two. Unusually, the casks are filled at a higher strength of 70% alcohol. Perhaps owing to the extraordinary mill we have, the old equipment, combined with the 'trickle' distillation of the stills under experienced human control, we are able to obtain a higher degree of alcohol than most  distilleries. This will ensure that the whiskies we make will age particularly well, something that the next generation will benefit from.

Shop - Mary runs this. You can see who is visiting/tasting.  Want to see an item of the Bruichladdich clothing etc. Email her here and she can hold it up in front of the camera for you.

Lochindaal  - westwards - Bruichladdich Pier. Then next stop America!

Lochindaal  - east wards - To the Paps of Jura. Plus the road to Brigend. Watch and gasp in amazement at the Bruichladdich Rush Hour…

Courtyard - Lorries, cars, etc etc.

We have used the best equipment available, but Islay is an island on the West Coast of Scotland so the frames are renewed every 4 seconds,  it is therefore a bit jerky, but at least you can see whisky being made!  We have nothing to hide!

Video clips & Images are available in the Bruichladdich Gallery - click here