There are currently only eight distilleries on Islay, so to get to the last of my nine distilleries entailed a short ferry trip to the island of Jura. Despite being thirty miles long and seven miles wide, Jura has a … Continue reading Nine Distilleries : 9. Jura

Bowmore – the last of my Islay distilleries – is a bit special. It is situated in the town of the same name; or at least what passes for a town on Islay. It has a tasting room with views … Continue reading Nine Distilleries : 8. Bowmore

I wanted to go to the Caol Ila Distillery for two reasons. First, it would count towards my full set of Islay distilleries, and second, I was desperate to know how to pronounce it! For years, I have been going … Continue reading Nine Distilleries : 7. Caol Ila

It was the kind of day where Mother Nature decides that colour is an optional extra. The road we drove along looked as if it was heading directly to the end of the world with no option to pass Go. … Continue reading Nine Distilleries : 6, Bunnahabhain

We’ve all played this game: you are alone in a leaking hot air balloon above a crocodile infested lake. The only way to keep it from crashing is to progressively jettison the cargo – which comprises of twelve bottles of … Continue reading Nine Distilleries : 5. Lagavulin

It was a bit of a black and white day when we visited the Ardbeg Distillery: the buildings were Islay white, but most other things including the clouds were black. Nevertheless the distillery complex managed to maintain the refined dignity … Continue reading Nine Distilleries : 4. Ardbeg