Take your mind off – Post 6
Take your mind off – Post 6
Central & North Islay
In continuation with my previous post about South Islay, this one is to cover central & northern regions of this mesmerising place. The ‘Big Three” Laphroaig, Lagavulin & Ardbeg dominate the south and perhaps are the most popular of the Islay whiskies, the northern Islay distilleries are mesmerising in terms of scenic beauty; some of you will also argue that the whisky is better too. But yes do debate and join me where I relish the moments of central & northern Islay. Take your mind off – Post 6
What can you watch out for?
• The absolutely scenic view outside Bunnahabhain distillery where a dram of whisky will give you the best sense of why maybe the terroir plays a role.
• The picture perfect stills at Ardnahoe overseeing the Island of Jura
• Two sides of the coin, Bruichladdich & Port Charlotte. The Yellow submarine and Ugly Betty not to be missed.
• From grain to glass all in one distillery- Kilchoman
• Rainbows of Islay
So Bowmore town has a very interesting history starting with the Kilarrow Parish church with an unusually circular design (to prevent the devil hiding in any corner) set up in 1767 leading on to the oldest distillery of Islay- Bowmore. As said previously I think that the essence of a good single malt is a decent tale; it captures the imagination and lets the mind wander when you have the spirit in the glass. Pity that like the recent Bowmore whisky the distillery tour also was extremely disappointing with guides who were not too happy about annoying questions going into details. A place seeped in history I hoped for so much more… The 12 year old Bowmore dumpy from the 70’s only reminded me that like the story the whisky had faded. The other star distillery of Caol Ila was unfortunately closed during my visit so the best thing to do was to head to the new kid in town.
Ardnahoe – Pronounced ‘Aaarnahoe’, this kid comes with some credentials. Owned by Stewart & sons more popularly recognised in the whisky world as the family that owns Hunter Liang & Co Ltd. For those who do not know about Hunter Liang it is an Independent Bottler of repute split from the previously famous Douglas Liang Co. After Bowmore, I was very sceptical of what could be on offer but a lass by name Jamie outdid herself while she showed me around the distillery, it was of the most engaging tours I had. Perhaps one of the few modern distilleries that adopted the ‘worm tubs’ this site had the most gorgeous stills that I witnessed. Wonderfully fashioned still room overlooking the island of Jura this picturesque distillery just blew me away just with plain ‘new make’! Since the distillery was set up in October 2018 they did not have any ‘whisky’ as such for me to taste but as a part of the tour and tasting I was offered some of the OMC bottlings. The distillery has a wonderful restaurant and a well-stocked shop where you can pick up some of the amazing bottles from Hunter Liang. Look for the pictures of Ardnahoe and use a large screen if possible, again one of those moments which makes it all worth the wait. Must visit
Now I have heard so much about the scenic beauty of Bunnahabhain I kept wondering as to how something could be prettier than what I had just seen at Ardnahoe. That’s when I saw the bow (look for the picture named Indradhanush) arching right across the blue in its most glorious splendour; just like that, out of the blue as they say! And at the end of the bow was indeed the pot of gold ‘Bunnahabhain’-the Gaelic translation is ‘foot of the river’. Now this distillery is quite different from all the others in Islay; first thing to notice is that it is quite big I would presume the biggest in Islay, the stills are absolutely massive. Secondly it does not make any peated whisky and unlike all the other distilleries on the coast this one is largely protected from the harsh weather. Now I am not a great fan of a Bunna (not that I have tasted many) it’s a decent drink and their 18 usually hits the spot for me the creamy viscosity being the key aspect. But there is a spot outside the distillery overlooking the loch and the pier, now this place is magical it possesses the powers to make an average whisky taste good and good whisky, phenomenal. The Fèis ìle 2019 Sauternes finish was a great sip on that bench. Again a must visit even if you are not a great fan of the whisky.
Bruichladdich/ Port Charlotte – The guys with the best story! Now who does not like a laddie? It’s one of those malts like Tom Hanks personified, it may not be the best whisky in your book but you will certainly lap it up when served. Add Port Charlotte and Octomore to it and you have a worthy portfolio. If you happen to take a tour I am sure the host will engage you in the most inspiring story of Mark Reynier & Jim McEwan resurrecting the mothballed distillery to Bruichladdich 2.0. The yellow submarine is another great anecdote behind the limited release of the bottle. Amazing craft and fantastic options, if you want to look at craft and experimentation this is the place to be, the visitor’s centre will show you the range of releases and it’s simply outstanding. Did you know that Octomore was a distillery? Yes very much in Islay but was shut in the 1850’s quite some time before Bruichladdich was built
The final visit of the day was to meet Antony Wills at Kilchoman, (had met him at the Vault Biennale in Mumbai) Again a new distillery, in comparison was set up in 2005 and has the distinction of being completely Independent farm distillery. In effect what that means is that the complete cycle of growing barley to bottling whisky is at the distillery. Independent signifying that none of the large corporations of Diageo, Pernod or Suntory own it. Here at this distillery you will see a wonderful balance of modernisation and tradition; the first thing that you would notice is the clean and wonderful upkeep at the distillery and shiny condensers, wash backs etc. It’s also a great place to see optimal utilisation of space, well designed and compact. The semi-automated bottling plant is always fun to watch from the glass walls and the grain to whisky concept will make a lot of sense when you witness the creation of the final product.
