As a fan of their Botanist Gin and Port Charlotte whiskey, I was looking forward to my tour of Bruichladdich Distillery. Unfortunately, our tour was a disappointment. Of the 1 1/2 hour tour, our guide spent about 20 minutes sharing very detailed information about their push for sustainability. It’s not that I don’t value and admire this—its that the level of detail was ridiculous and frankly boring. Then another tour jumped in behind us and kept pushing us on to the next thing. Our guide said they were early, but the effect was strange. There was very little mention of the gin process. In addition, our guide was difficult to follow, so we felt like we missed a lot. In the end, we left feeling as though we didn’t learn much about their whiskey or gin processes. There are better, more informative tours in Islay than this.

They say never meet your heroes. How apt this saying is after a week of diligently visiting every distillery on Islay, slowing building to a triumphant crescendo at your favourite Distillery; Bruichladdich. Upon walking in, we were confronted with some of the best merchandise any distiller have to offer. However, when asking for a comfy seat and a selection of the finest drams, it was as though I had sprouted an extra head. To give the staff their dues, I was offered a thimble of complimentary drinks with some good knowledge to go with them, but seeing as I had built up a tremendous thirst, free was not what I was after. I would have happily payed my way, drank everything on offer and spent all my money in the gift shop. What actually transpired was a swift drink and an even swifter exit, feeling deflated. The experience could be improved no end by providing some comfy seating and a full tasting flight of the excellent whisky Bruichladdich has to offer. They may be progressive distillers but don’t bother going if you expect to taste any half decent amount of whisky. I hope to return in future when these changes are fully implemented.

There was wet paint on one of the walls at the beginning of the tour and no sign. About 5 people in our group got wet paint on them, including me. I spent most of the tour in the toilets washing the paint out of my clothes instead of listening to the tour. They didn’t offer any apology or refund. I guess it’s the risk you take when you visit a working distillery but an apology would have been nice. It’s unfortunate that this was my first exposure to the brand, I’ll always remember this experience when I see them in the store.