The Botanist Islay Dry Gin

The Bruichladdich Distillery was built and established by the Harvey Brothers in 1881 on the shore of Loch Indaal on the Inner Hebridean island of Islay on the west coast of Scotland. Robert, William, and John Harvey came from a family with over a century of historical ties to distilling, including establishing two Glasgow-based distilleries. John designed the layout of Bruichladdich Distillery, Robert handled the engineering, and William managed the finance. When the distillery opened its doors, it was unlike any other distillery on the island. When it opened, it featured state-of-the-art distillation equipment and a distillery layout around a central courtyard, providing easy access to all the buildings.

Over the following years, the distillery underwent various periods of renovation, growth, and changes in ownership. By 1994, its then-owners considered it surplus to requirements and closed its doors for what could have been the final time. However, fortune favours the brave, and in December 2000, a consortium led by Mark Renyier and Simon Coughlin purchased the derelict buildings and remaining whisky stock. The distillery underwent refurbishment and renovation, retaining much of the original Victorian-era equipment. The new owners also knew they would need a master distiller to lead the development of new and unique spirits and an in-depth understanding of how to run a successful distillery. Top of the list was Master Distiller Jim McEwan. Jim had worked at the Bowmore Distillery from age 15, working his way up to Master Distiller. Jim joined the team as Master Distiller and Production Director. He had a vision for the distillery to produce innovative whisky and terroir-driven spirits.

In 2010, a Lomond Still, the last in working order, was rescued from the demolition of the Inverleven distillery in Dumbarton. With some slight modifications under the guidance of Jim McEwan, the Lomond Still was sympathetically installed and commissioned at the distillery to help create a smoother new make spirit. The still would eventually become affectionately known as ‘Ugly Betty’ due to its unusual appearance. It was also around that time when Mark Renyier and Jim McEwan discussed the idea of an Islay Scottish Gin featuring local botanicals. With the ongoing growth of the gin category, Jim and the team knew there was a unique opportunity to create the first Islay-based Scottish Gin due to a growing demand for craft gins that featured locally foraged botanicals.

With the help of two local botanists, Dr. Richard and Mavis Gulliver, Jim began building a botanical library of what local botanicals would work in a gin. After testing and refinement, a final recipe reflected the island’s seasons and natural larder. After various recipe developments, the final recipe featured twenty two island botanicals and nine classic gin botanicals. With a distillation process taking 17 hours, some of the botanicals are macerated overnight in the still, with the more delicate botanicals placed in a botanical basket that hung inside the head of the still. 

The progressive Hebridean distillers have continued to push forward with spirits since the launch of The Botanist Islay Dry Gin in 2010, including several variations of The Botanist Islay Dry Gin and several cask aged editions of The Botanist Islay Dry Gin created under the guidance of Jim McEwan’s replacement, Master Distiller Adam Hannett. Although Jim McEwan has retired, his influence and ethos of crafting unique and innovative spirits shaped by the island remains at the heart of all the spirits produced at Bruichladdich Distillery.