Bowmore is a Scottish distillery on the island of Islay known for its rich, fruity, peaty, smoky single malt whiskies. It was founded in 1779 by Islay merchant John Simson before passing to the Mutter family, a local family of German descent, who remained as owners until 1925. Their many innovations included contructing their own steam ship to bring barley and coal from the mainland and to deliver the whisky to Glasgow. Since 1963, the distillery has been owned by Morrison Bowmore Distillers, which in 1994 was in turn bought by Suntory. MBD also owns the Auchentoshan and Glen Garioch distilleries and produces the McClelland's Single Malt portfolio of bottlings. The distillery site features the world's oldest remaining whisky maturation warehouse, the No. 1 Vaults, which date back to the company's inception. Bowmore is one of the few distilleries to malt its own Islay barley, though this provides only small proportion of the amount required. To meet capacity, malted barley is brought in from the mainland The core range features 12, 15 year old Darkest (finished in Oloroso casks), 18- and 25-year-old expressions, plus the Small Batch which has no age statement. Black Rock, Gold Reef and White Sands are a trio of exclusive releases for the travel market, while various limited editions are released in often tiny quantities.