Founded in 1779 in the "capital" of Islay , on the shore of Loch Indaal , this distillery is now in the hands of the Japanese (Suntory). You can't miss this distillery as you pass through Bowmore , though the pagodas on the school have fooled a few people!
Bowmores' taste takes the middle ground , falling between the heavy peat/smoke of the Kildaltons to the south and the lighter ,subtle spirits of the north and west . The first Bowmore i tasted was the old 10 year old release , i was converted . Since then i've tried most of the range , The "legend" ,12yo , 15yo ( Mariner ) , 17yo , 21yo , 25yo , 30yo, 40yo (limited edition ) , a 1968 50th Annivsary special and various finishes .Again there's a multitude of independent bottlings available.

There's a good websites to extract information from , www.bowmore.co.uk , you can take a tour Monday to Friday (Sat Morning in the summer ) , again give them a ring before hand ( 01496 - 810441 ) .