Islay, Queen of the Whisky Isles
There are many areas of Scotland with concentrations of distilleries but of all of them there are none to compare with the lovely remote island of Islay. Of the other island sources Orkney has a mere two, Skye, Mull and Arran only one each, yet Islay has an astonishing seven - all of them highly regarded, all of them very different and yet still distinctively Islay. They tend to attract extreme reactions, some people finding the strong phenolic tastes of the southern ones too much for them. However those that acquire the taste tend to be adherents for life, indeed for the committed Islay drinker there is little else worth bothering with.
In alphabetical order (so as not to anticipate our tastings) they are:
Ardbeg
Bowmore
Bruichladdich
Bunnahabhain
Caol Ila
Lagavulin
Laphroaigh
And if that isn’t enough then just a short ferry hop across the sound is the Isle of Jura distillery, while you can still obtain Port Ellen, although sadly this Islay distillery was dismantled some years ago and the remaining stocks are rising in price rather quickly.
In the next few weeks we’ll be offering tasting notes on all of these well loved drams. Indeed we’ve looked at one of the versions of Bruichladdich already. If you’re new to the delights of Islay then we hope you’ll be encouraged to experiment. I (Bill) am even hoping to convert Mike from his Strathspey favourites!
Bill Marshall on January 16th 2008 in Islay, Whisky Regions, Whisky Distilleries, Malt Whisky
admin responded on 16 Jan 2008 at 12:48 pm #
hey come on. I really like bruichladdich its really nice. I still have to say that I do, as a rule, prefer speyside whisky (as a rule)
Armin responded on 16 Jan 2008 at 1:48 pm #
Ahem, there are eight working distilleries on Islay, soon nine. Admittedly they both don’t sell any whisky yet, but they are still there.
Kilchoman has been going for a few years now, they can soon legally start selling whisky (although I believe they will wait for the 5 years).
Port Charlotte (owned by Bruichladdich) will start production once they’ve (re-)built the distillery.
ron responded on 16 Jan 2008 at 5:45 pm #
Hi. I look forward to reading your tasting notes on the Islay Malts. I will give you a mention on my blog when you completed the Islay malts. Goodluck and Slainte
Bill Marshall responded on 16 Jan 2008 at 8:35 pm #
Hi Armin, delighted to hear about both of these. Bruichladdich really seem to be making a big splash since they reopened and it’ll be good to have such a well known Islay name on a whisky again. The Kilchoman is an intriguing development - in some ways a ‘back to the future’ step in that it’s returning to something that was once common. Is there any suggestion of what it’s likely to taste like yet?
Thanks Ron, I’m sure we’ll have fun doing it! I’ll even try not to be biased in favour of Caol Ila
I’m glad to have come across both your blogs - I really must try to get back to Islay sometime soon. The last time I came down with flu on the second day of a week’s visit in a freezing April season and spent the rest of the time in bed. Most annoying.
best to you both
Armin responded on 16 Jan 2008 at 11:14 pm #
Bill, my sample of the new spirit is unopened as yet, but then I think it’s not really intended for drinking anyway. Unfortunately can’t remember where, but I’ve seen some first thoughts/tastes somewhere. They said it was very promising, but I can’t remember any further details. In good old Islay tradition probably quite peaty.
I’ll tell you more in 3 years time, after I’ve picked up my Kilchoman futures which will be bottled in 2011