The Women Who Have Shaped Us

Born Elizabeth Leitch Williamson in 1910, Bessie grew up in Glasgow with dreams of becoming a teacher. After graduating from the University of Glasgow in 1932, she eventually landed a summer job at Laphroaig, joining as a shorthand typist in 1934 after a fateful holiday to Islay. The role was only required for three months, but Bessie’s strong rapport with owner Ian Hunter, great nephew of Laphroaig’s original founders, saw her remain on the island for nearly fifty years – with her work helping redefine the future of Scotch whisky.

In 1938, a key point in Bessie’s ascent saw her venture to the US, where she attended business meetings and led negotiations. She deputised so competently for Hunter, who had suffered a stroke, that by 1944 she was entrusted with running the entire Laphroaig distillery due to the owner’s ongoing health problems. The Second World War had seen the distillery double as a barracks and ammunition store, and Bessie began her stint as manager looking after the armed forces before eventually resuming whisky production.

Ian Hunter – known for being hard to please – was a huge admirer of Bessie’s passion, spirit and determination, and trusted her completely. Upon his passing in 1954, he handed over the Laphroaig distillery to her, along with Ardenistle House – her future family home, complete with greenhouse and flower garden – and the neighbouring Texa Island. This arrangement saw Bessie make history as the first woman to own and run a Scotch whisky distillery in the 20th century.

Bessie had inherited a distillery in great shape, but the journey was only just beginning. Given her unique business perspective, operating as she did in a considerably male field, she was soon courted by the Scotch Whisky Association to be an overseas spokesperson. Working for the SWA from 1961, Bessie helped Laphroaig achieve even greater standing in the US during a number of tours, where she hosted a series of lectures explaining the distillation process using a scale model.

It was also on one of these tours that Bessie met her future husband, Wishart Campbell. A  Canadian baritone who happened to be the grandson of an Islay minister, he and Bessie were married in Glasgow in 1961, with the newlyweds soon moving back to the island – Campbell allegedly returning to his home town with nothing but a travel bag and a white grand piano. 

As former Distillery Manager John Campbell once said, “Laphroaig is a globally recognised whisky thanks to Bessie”. Her expert knowledge of America and its relationship with Scotch whisky was a key factor in helping Laphroaig grow to the next level.

In 1962, with the distillery in need of some upgrades, she approached Glasgow’s Long John Distillers – ultimately a subsidiary of Schenley Industries, a vast American drinks empire – and offered them 33% of her shares. The deal saw Laphroaig’s annual production leap from 200,000 gallons to 300,000 by the 1966-67 distilling season, with exciting new inroads being made across the pond.

Throughout the 60s and 70s, Bessie gradually passed control of the distillery to others, but never wavered in her support of local charities and her own workers at Laphroaig. As chair of the Kidalton branch of the Scottish Women’s Rural Institute, she organised several events to raise money for local causes and offered up Laphroaig’s community hall for meetings. A generous philanthropist throughout her life, Bessie was awarded the Order of St John in 1963 for her charity work – another honour to add to a prestigious list, since she’d been elected Great Britain’s Woman of The Year in the 1950s.

Bessie retired in 1971 and remained at Ardenistle House with her husband until her passing in 1982. An accomplished businesswoman and a true inspiration, her formative work saw Laphroaig grow from a promising operation to a distillery loved across the world, defined by the spirit, craft and heart found in every bottle made to this day. 

As a fitting tribute, Laphroaig celebrated her truly remarkable legacy in 2023 with a very special limited release – the Laphroaig 25 Year Old: The Bessie Williamson Story.