Sensory Overload

I didn't take much persuading. When a friend asked if I fancied a Distillery Crawl round the Hebredean isle of Islay, I merely asked "Are you serious?" and booked a hotel, ferry and taxi! One of the advantages of Single Living is that you can take off at the drop of a hat, as the mood arises. Ian however, with the constraints of family life, was subject to a 3 day exit visa and so we must make efforts to maximise our drinking time!

I have been a keen imbiber of Laphroig malt whiskies for a long time and along with Ian, who's personal favourite tends to be Lagavulin, have spent many a happy hour comparing the merits and de-merits of each malt. The chance to pay homage to the 'Isle of Happiness' could not be missed...

We drove north, through Glasgow and along the shore of the beautiful Loch Lomond to catch the afternoon ferry from Kennacraig to Port Askaig, stopping only at a 'local shop' for tea & toasties. The weather so far had been glorious but, out on the water, the wind soon whipped up around us and I soon felt like I was back in arctic waters. By the time we reached land, it was typical 'island weather' - the cloud was down, it was raining and miserable; we set off along the road for a drive around the north west of the island before driving to our hotel, the Lochside Hotel in Bowmore.

This is a nice spot to base yourself for a tour of the island, being central to the island and all of the distilleries. The town's whitewashed buildings and nice harbour add to the general effect of well being. The real bonus is the wall of whisky behind the Lochside bar! There are reputedly over 400 malts in the house with no less than 200 from Islay, coming from Bunnahabain, Coal Ila, Bowmore, Laphroig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Port Ellen and Bruichladich. Of these, only the first six are still in operation. The malts range in price from around £2.50/35ml to a 10 yo Ardbeg selling at £1000 (yes, really) a shot!

Managing to fit three distilleries into one day was an interesting feat in itself, but we decided to 'hit the south coast'. The bonus came twofold - as I wasn't driving, I was free to drink to my heart's content; as Ian was driving, I could drink his, as well! Driving through Port Ellen along the dramatic southern road, I seriously wished I had more time to spend on this wonderful island.

We soon reached the whitewashed buildings of Laphroig. I was in heaven; here I was beside the place which had fed me for so many years! The tour took us through the stages of whisky production from peat-cutting to distilation. Disappointingly, it all seemed too staged; although there were only two of us there, the guide appeared to be reading from a script and projected her voice to the other 20 invisible patrons. I'm told that Iain Henderson, the manager, gives an exceptionally good tour however. Certainly, for free and being our first tour of the day, it couldn't be knocked. This is a very modern and productive distillery, with stainless steel equipment and a very impressive still house. Laphroig is one of the few Ilean distilleries still to malt it's own barley, most of the others buying theirs in from the Port Ellen Maltings.

After enjoying my free sample of the 10 year old nectar (and three quarters of Ian's!), we continued to our next port of call - Lagavulin, about a mile or so along the coast. Here, we were joined by a group of three Germans who were also staying at the Lochside. Our guide, this time, was the manager who gave a very interesting tour, emphasising the productivity and management of the plant. Again, the Lagavulin tour shows an ultra modern plant - the process is fully computerised and it was with great effort that I managed to stop Ian taking the controls (you have to know him to understand that bit!!). The Maltings at Port Ellen is owned by Lagavulin's parent company, so all it's barley is brought in. At the end of the tour, gathered in an informal lounge, we all sat back to enjoy a measure of the finest 16 year old.

By now, it was lunchtime and we continued for another mile or so to eat in the new cafe at Ardbeg. One of the interesting things about Islay is that the people are so friendly. I have travelled to many places where people will always talk to you, but here there appears to be an incessant desire to wave to people. Islay is an island of exceptionally cheerful workmen (in Glasgow, a roadworker threw a traffic cone at the car, but here, they wave and smile at you!) But I digress...

Of the three southern distilleries, Ardbeg had been the one which I had been most looking forward to. Having been closed down a few years ago and recently resurrected, I was keen to visit the unknown. I was not to be disappointed. Our tour guide was Paula, who was also the shopkeeper, waitress and occasional cook! In total comparison to the Laphroig tour, she was great. Barely two minutes into the tour, Paula had to break off to answer the phone - this was shortly followed by a breakoff to move a car that was parked in the wrong place! In contrast to the earlier distilleries, Ardbeg was a breath of fresh air, taking the visitor back in time to an apparently forgotten age of distilling. Paula delivered all this with flair and flailing arms, in the style of Jilly Goolden. Here, we also took a trip into the barrel store (Paula seemed to be following one of the warehousemen from one building to another...) "Wouldn't you just love to know what was going on inside this barrel?", she enthused; and it was this level of enthusiasm that made the tour.

Back in the shop, expecting to be offered a glass of their 10 year old, Paula produced the full range of bottles and offered us free reign over the whole range. I think the idea was to get us drunk enough to spend some money in the shop - it worked!

Back at the Lochside, the evening was spent sampling Port Ellens and Coal Ila, with a diversification towards Talisker. Still, I could not clear my mind of the amazing taste of the 1975 Ardbeg.

The next day, we had the morning to kill before our afternoon ferry back to the mainland. We therefore decided to spend the morning with a tour of the Bowmore distillery. This tour starts with a 20 minute video (ours started with an Italian version but, luckily, was changed rather quickly). The video was good and the tour interesting. Bowmore is the oldest distillery on the island and has recently been renovated. It does, however, retain it's character with copper and brass vessels, rather than the ubiquitous stainless steel. However, whereas all the other distilleries visited take the visitor close to the tuns, etc, here you are kept on viewing platforms, at a safe distance. Still an excellent tour, though.

Unfortunately, Coal Ila weren't doing tours at the moment and Bunnahabain was a little out of the way for us in the short time available, so we had to make do with these four. I felt that all the tours complimented each other perfectly, each playing an important role in understanding the diversity of the products (and, of course, allowing for up to 6 glasses in a day!) I still think, however, that we did the southern three in the right order - it would have been disappointing to follow the wonderful Ardbeg tour with that of Laphroig. The only suggestion would be to visit Bowmore before the others, as the video puts it all into perspective from the start.

I returned home with joy in my heart, peatsmoke in my lungs and a bottle of whisky in each pocket! After much deliberation (I visited the Spar in Bowmore four times on Wednesday), I plumped for a bottle of 1975 Ardbeg (24yo) and a 15yo Laphroig.

I've just got to go back!

Kev