Located on the south coast of Islay, part of the chain of islands known as  the Hebrides, Bowmore was founded in 1779 by John P. Simpson and is  the island’s first official distillery. Established as a farm distillery, Bowmore,  which means «great reef» in Gaelic, has its own malting air. With a fermen tation time of 70 hours, the distillery uses 4 stills to distil its peated new  make at 25/30 ppm. Its best-known cellar, number 1, is located below sea  level. The distillery was closed during the Second World War. It was used  by RAF Costal Command to fight submarines.