Redshank at the Bruichladdich shore, Isle of Islay

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Redshank at the Bruichladdich shore, Isle of IslaySpotted on the shore just outside of Bruichladdich distillery, a redshank wading in the shallow water.

Ugly Betty still and spirit safe, Bruichladdich, Isle of Islay

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Ugly Betty still and spirit safe, Bruichladdich, Isle of Islay An impression of the unusual Ugly Betty still and spirit safe at Bruichladdich distillery, used to make The Botanist gin, the only gin distilled on Islay. Taken in April 2016.

Filling a Bruichladdich Valinch in 2003, Isle of Islay

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Picture of a man filling a bottle from a whisky caskBack in 2003 the Bruichladdich shop and visitor centre as we know it today didn’t exist yet, during the early years after the reopening things were a bit simpler and sometimes improvised. I’m not sure when it started, but certainly by April 2003 you could fill your own valinch bottle. Here’s me filling a bottle as an early birthday present to myself in a corner of some room at the distillery (I have a vague memory there might have been some cask filling equipment in the opposite corner, but I’m not sure).

Update: Thanks to Gordon Homer for confirming that it was indeed the filling room where it took place, also check the picture of him filling one back in 2001 (see the comments below)