From Bruichladdich to the town Bowmore, this series outlining my recent trip to Islay will now detail our visit to the Laphroaig distillery – which, appropriately, was the second distillery we visited on our tour. The drive from Bowmore to Laphroaig took in the area of twenty minutes (which seems to be a common theme when driving around Islay) and brought us right through the peat bogs. Now, the peat bogs are quite interesting! This is where they break the peat that is used to get that peaty (would you ruddy believe it), smoky, Islay taste. What you might not have guessed is that the peat is actually broken/dug out/whatever you prefer to call it by hand; there is no machinery used, just good old man-power.
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It’s time to return to my Islay whisky tour, dear readers, and since I reviewed a distillery (Bruichladdich) in my last post, I shall change things up a bit with today’s entry and focus instead – ever so briefly, should I be capable of it – on the town that we used as our base. We decided to stay in Bowmore, which is on the west side of the island (it’s only a wee place, though, so driving from one side to the other takes virtually no time at all – we arrived at Port Askaig, which is on the east side, and I think it took about 15-20 minutes to get across). Bowmore itself is a beautiful little town, as well as the capital of Islay. According to our bus driver (booked, if I may advertise for a second, through Timberbush, his name was Frasier, and he was fantastic) the population of the town is around the 1,000 mark, which I reckon is pretty much spot on. It’s right on the coast which means that many of the hotels and restaurants/pubs have stunning sea views.
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So, my dear readers, the time has come for me to go on, and on, and on about my recent trip to the magical mystery island of utterly fantastic splendidness that is: Islay! Yes, dear reader, I have finally made the pilgrimage to that most wonderful of places, the home of such outstanding whiskies as Ardbeg (which I visited), Bowmore (which I also visited, albeit briefly), Bunnahabhain (which I did not), and Bruichladdich (which I also visited) to name but a few. I will be honest; I have a lot to say. But fear not, I’m well aware of the limited attention span of the peoples of the Internet (myself very much included), so rather than writing one humongous post about my entire experience, I shall divided it up into… Well, a few!
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Set off the fireworks, treat yourself to a whisky marinated steak and pour yourself a double measure of Jura – we’ve reached our final destination in the wee series of the Scottish whisky regions. We’ve climbed the hills of the Highlands to visit the likes of Clynelish and Glenmorangie, we’ve dared go within smelling distance of Glasgow to sample the Lowland distillery of Auchentoshan, we’ve swam across to Islay and had our minds blown by a peat overload and we’ve visited the former Whisky Capital of the World, Campbeltown. There is only one, or rather several, place to go – the Scottish islands!
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We’ve already dipped into the Highlands, Islay, Speyside and Campbeltown regions and the end of this wee series of the Scottish distillery regions is getting close. With only two regions to go, namely Lowlands and Islands, I’ve decided to leave Islands until last and look now at the region which comprises the distillery which lays nearest my own home town – Lowlands.
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For the fourth article in this wee series on the regions of Scotland, as I’ve come to call it, and having already taken a look at the Highlands, Speyside and Campbeltown regions, it’s time to move on to something a bit more fiery – or smoky, at least. Having risen to quite some fame in the last few decades, the Islay region is cherished by many for its exceedingly potent and smoky produce. It boasts no fewer than eight distilleries, and quite a few big names at that, which surely makes it the most important island in Scottish whisky production.
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