Commissioned in 1880 for the Harvey Brothers' purpose-built Islay distillery it is, according
to experts, likely to be the oldest pot still in use in Scotland at 130 years old.

The life expectancy of most pot stills is only around forty years. After which, having eroded
over the years with constant boiling, the copper becomes too thin and liable to collapse.

But this venerable pot still, riveted in the Victorian way, was made with an exceptionally
thick copper bottom to endure the intensity of a coal fire underneath it.

The wash still has been renovated and tested by Forsyths of Rothes, one of only two
remaining Scottish coppersmiths, and passed with flying colours for continued use.

Duncan MacGillivray, manager and chief engineer said: “We are told at 130 years old this
is most likely to be the oldest whisky still in the world. They don't make them like this any
more - there's plenty of life left in her and we intend to keep her going for a wee while yet.”

Bruichladdich's stills, designed most likely by John Harvey, the middle of the three Harvey
brothers, are unusually tall and narrow-necked. The Harveys sought a unique shape to
obtain a spirit of elegance in contrast to the heavier spirits produced from small, more
compact stills on the island at that time.

To superstitious distillers, still-shape is sacrosanct. Any alteration is abhorred, fearing the
slightest of changes will impact on the style of the whisky. Often mistaken for miserliness,
they would prefer to continue with the still they have rather than buy a new one.

This still's unusual longevity owes a good deal to fate. Under usage between 1881 and
1945 owing to struggling finances, two depressions, US prohibition, two world wars and a
fire that nearly destroyed the distillery, meant it was already in remarkably good shape by
the time it was converted to more forgiving internal steam coils in the fifties.