Take your mind off – Post 5

Take your mind off – Post 5

Magical Islay – Part 1

At times like this when the world is practicing social distancing I cannot but recollect beautiful Islay. A true paradise on earth for some and for others perhaps one of the most remote and desolate places in this whisky making nation- Scotland. Take a quick trip to this remote island with me (digitally) and ‘take your mind off’ the current situation, the sun will shine and there will be more glorious whisky for all of us. Each picture will have a short note only trying to express what the visual is, but no matter how good the pictures are it will never compare to the cold breeze and beautiful sights that this paradise on earth has to offer.

Islay whisky is perhaps the most distinct produce from Scotland characterized from its peaty, smoky & medicinal notes. Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain, Kilchoman, Bruichladdie, Bowmore & Ardnahoe are the active distilleries spread across the island.

Beautiful and serene one side of the coin, wild, remote and desolate on the other. This is not really the ideal holiday or whisky pilgrimage for all enthusiasts. Yes, people flock to this island in herds during the Feis Ile – The Islay Festival for Music & Malt but it is a quiet place at most times. As for people travelling from India, this island clocks 100 visitors or lesser in a year. For most of us from the subcontinent social distance may get uncomfortable (as we are beginning to feel it now) over an extended period of time, so a visit with friends would be suggested unless solitude is your thing (madness for peated whisky works too). But whichever way you chose the place WILL leave an impression on you, be it the rainbows that will arch across the blue skies in full bloom only to give way for rain and dark clouds only in a matter of minutes.

Look out for the other parts to continue the digital trip to Magical Islay.