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Home , Ardbeg distillery, Bowmore, Bruichladdich distillery, Bunnahabhain, Bunnahabhain distillery, Caledonian MacBrayne

The Land of A visitor guide to one of ’s five whisky regions. Whisky

The practice of distilling whisky No two are the same; each has has been lovingly perfected its own proud heritage, unique throughout Scotland for centuries setting and its own way of doing and began as a way of turning things that has evolved and been rain-soaked into a drinkable refined over time. Paying a visit to spirit, using the fresh water a distillery lets you discover more from Scotland’s crystal-clear about the environment and the springs, streams and burns. people who shape the taste of the whisky you enjoy. So, when To this day, distilleries across the you’re sitting back and relaxing country continue the tradition with a of our most famous of using pure spring water from export at the end of your distillery the same sources that have been tour, you’ll be appreciating the used for centuries. essence of Scotland as it swirls in your glass. From the source of the water and the shape of the still to the wood Home to the greatest concentration of the cask used to mature the of distilleries in the world, spirit, there are many factors Scotland is divided into five that make so distinct whisky regions. These wonderfully different and varied are Islay, Speyside, , from distillery to distillery. Lowland and .

Find out more information about whisky, how it’s made, what foods to pair it with and more: www.visitscotland.com/whisky For more information on travelling in Scotland: www.visitscotland.com/travel Search and book accommodation: www.visitscotland.com/accommodation Islay

BUNNAHABHAIN Islay is one of many small islands barley grown by local crofters. off Scotland’s west coast but it certainly stands out from the The former is perhaps the crowd. Just 25 miles in length, element that most dramatically its rocky bays and sheltered inlets distinguishes Islay’s unique single house eight active distilleries. from the rest of Scotland’s It is perhaps only fair then that whisky producing regions. Burned industrious Islay has long been in kilns to dry the malted barley crowned Scotland’s ‘whisky island’. used in the process, the CAOL ILA island’s has been formed Most of Islay’s original distilleries over millions of years, rich in – some long since lost to history decaying , heather and – started as farm distilleries, lichens and very different in retreating to secluded glens and composition to mainland peat. caves when excise duty was first introduced on whisky in the Frequently lashed by Atlantic 17th century. In actual fact, the storms, salty spray blown over the exciseman didn’t dare set foot on island for centuries has penetrated BRUICHLADDICH Islay for over 150 years because the deep layers of peat and of the fearsome reputation of the seeped into the warehouses islanders, who were regarded of maturing casks, ultimately at the time as wild and barbaric. affecting the taste and aroma Nothing could be further from the of the dormant Scotch whisky. truth nowadays, with Islay being The resulting malts are pungent, well noted for its warm hospitality. powerful and characterful. Typically, Islay single malts are According to legend, monks first renowned for their smokiness brought the art of whisky distilling on the nose and palate with faint ARDBEG to the island from – which notes of sea air and seaweed. on a good day you can see from Islay’s south west coast. On Browse the listings in this guide arrival, they found it to be more to find out more information about than suitable for the purpose of the distilleries in the Islay region, distilling aqua vitae – the water of how to visit them or simply which life – thanks to its abundance of of their drams to sample. LAPHROAIG peat, fresh spring water and

Be sure to out our guides for the other four whisky regions: Campbeltown, Highland, Lowland and Speyside. www.visitscotland.com/distilleries-guides If you’ve already visited a few Laggan to produce a wide variety as single , many Ardbeg whisky distilleries, and want Bowmore of of different ages and Bunnahabhain casks produced in the distillery will something a bit different, Ardbeg different finishes. Thanks to its be used in Black Bottle, a blended Distillery offer a great Deconstructing the Distillery location, some of the distinct Distillery whisky which features a quantity of Dram tour from April to October, characteristics of the Bowmore spirit from every distillery on Islay. Tours available priced at £35. Use all your senses Tours available malts include smoke, salt and Tours available to deconstruct Ardbeg’s famous seaweed. Excess heat from the OPENING TIMES LOCATION whiskies on this two hour in-depth LOCATION distillation process is used to LOCATION Tours are by appointment only, . tour, from learning about Ardbeg’s Bowmore. warm the waters of Bowmore . please see website for more production process to taking part village’s nearby public swimming information. The shop is open HOW TO GET THERE in a fun nosing quiz. Along the way HOW TO GET THERE pool which is housed in one of the HOW TO GET THERE Monday to Friday 10am – 4pm. Visit the island by air or ferry. You you’ll also sample some of Ardbeg’s To get to the Isle of Islay, daily distillery’s former warehouses. To get to the Isle of Islay, daily could even take your own car finest whiskies, including a cask ferries operated by Caledonian ferries operated by Caledonian SAMPLE to get around or simply use the strength tasting in the warehouse. MacBrayne depart from OPENING TIMES MacBrayne depart from Kennacraig • Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old island’s fantastic taxi companies. on the mainland to Port Ellen/Port Opening times vary – please on the mainland to Port Ellen/Port • Bunnahabhain 18 Year Old Askaig. Alternatively, you can fly check the website. Askaig. Alternatively, you can fly • Bunnahabhain 25 Year Old OVERVIEW OPENING TIMES from or . from Glasgow or Oban. • Bunnahabhain 40 Year Old Founded in 1815, Opening times vary. SAMPLE • Bunnahabhain Ceobanach is one of Islay’s oldest whisky OVERVIEW • Bowmore 12 Year Old OVERVIEW • Bunnahabhain Eirigh distilleries. Ardbeg whiskies are SAMPLE Bowmore is the first recorded • Bowmore 15 Year Old Bunnahabhain has been part of Na Greine deep, complex and steeped in • Ardbeg Ten Years Old distillery on the Isle of Islay and • Bowmore 18 Year Old Islay’s whisky heritage since 1881. • Bunnahabhain Toiteach peat smoke, a distinctive property • Ardbeg Uigeadail one of the oldest in the whole • Bowmore 25 Year Old Nestled into the north east tip of that has come to characterise • Ardbeg Corryvreckan of Scotland, dating back to 1779. • Bowmore Legend the island, it overlooks the Sound WHERE TO BUY many Islay whiskies, due to the • Ardbeg Supernova Like other Islay malts, Bowmore is • Bowmore Small Batch of Islay and the neighbouring Isle Both these bottlings and other abundance of peat on the island. • Ardbeg Blasda renowned for its peaty smokiness, of Jura. The name Bunnahabhain Bunnahabhain whiskies are the result of traditionally WHERE TO BUY derives from Gaelic word for available to purchase from a Although Islay is only 25 miles WHERE TO BUY the malt using peat-fired kilns. The Available online and from ‘mouth of the river’ and the distillery number of retail outlets and from long, it boasts no fewer than eight Available at most major retailers distillers keep to the time-and- some retailers. draws its water from the nearby the website shop. distilleries (with two pending), and online. tested methods, and the process Spring. This remote making it easy for you to go on has scarcely been changed in over distillery produces a fine range a whisky exploration between 200 years of production. of malts which are not quite as them. At Ardbeg Distillery you can heavily peated as other Islay choose from four different tours Lying on the south eastern shore malts, and with each bottling some Looking along the coastline to with tastings, starting from £5 for the Looking across fields to of Indaal, the distillery uses distinctive characteristics. As well on Islay standard Ardbeg Tour and Tasting. the Ardbeg Distillery water sourced from the River

06 07 blends an interesting mix of old OPENING TIMES Bruichladdich and new; much of the equipment Opening times vary - used dates back to the Victorian please see website. Distillery era but this distillery is famed for taking innovative approaches when SAMPLE Tours available it comes to the whisky-making • Bruichladdich The Classic process. Self-styled as ‘progressive Laddie Scotch Barley LOCATION Hebridean distillers’, Bruichladdich • Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Bruichladdich. has released the Octomore, an Heavily Peated Scottish Barley experimental whisky made from • Bruichladdich Octomore 06.1 5 HOW TO GET THERE super heavily peated barley and Year Old Scottish Barley To get to the Isle of Islay, daily said to be the most heavily peated ferries operated by Caledonian single in the world. As WHERE TO BUY MacBrayne depart from well as whisky, the distillery started These single malt and other Kennacraig on the mainland producing , named , Bruichladdich whiskies are to Port Ellen/Port Askaig. in 2011. available to purchase from Alternatively, you can fly from a number of retail outlets Glasgow or Oban. In addition to standard daily tours, and online. the Warehouse Experience offers OVERVIEW something a bit special. Participants In a sheltered spot on the shores get the chance to try three single of lies Bruichladdich, malt whiskies which are not home to a distillery which dates available for general sale straight back to 1881. Bruichladdich from the cask in the setting of the distillery’s operation and ethos cathedral-like maturation room.

Looking across the water to on Islay

08 09 OVERVIEW Upon arrival, absorb the OPENING TIMES OTHER NEARBY ATTRACTIONS Caol Ila Located just north of Port Askaig, outstanding panoramic views Opening times vary - IN ISLAY Caol Ila (pronounced Cull-eela) is across the to the please see website. • Machrie Golf Links Distillery set in a sheltered bay surrounded , before taking a • RSPB Reserve by gorgeous Hebridean scenery. behind-the-scenes tour of the SAMPLE • Tours available It is the biggest distillery in Islay, distillery. Watch the distillers hard • Caol Ila 8 Year Old • Cultoon Stone Circle producing a jaw-dropping excess at work tending the six copper stills • Caol Ila 12 Year Old • Persabus Pottery Ceramic Café LOCATION of 2 million litres of spirit per year, on one of three tours which invite • Caol Ila 18 Year Old • Bowmore Port Askaig. and boasts a whisky-making you to witness first-hand the time- • Caol Ila 25 Year Old • Port Ellen heritage that stretches back to tested process behind the spirit • Caol Ila • Port Askaig HOW TO GET THERE 1846. Back in the day steamboats, produced at Caol Ila. • Caol Ila Dstillers Edition • Port Charlotte Visit the island by ferry or by plane known as ‘puffers’, would deliver • Caol Ila Stitchell Reserve to Islay from Glasgow cargoes of malting barley, coal and Discover how Islay peat imbues International Airport. Get around empty casks to the distillery. They the whisky distilled here with WHERE TO BUY using the local bus services or hire would return with these casks full its distinctive, smoky character, Available at a taxi or car once here. of whisky to the mainland through sample a selection of its different Shop, most major retailers and the Sound of Islay, the straight ages and maturations, and discover online. which separates the island from the unexpected flavourings of neighbouring Jura. its finest malts during a special tasting session accompanied with delectable chocolates – a truly Port Askaig on Islay unique whisky-tasting experience.

10 11 Kilchoman While other distilleries rely on specialist malting companies to Distillery supply them with malted barley for their whiskies, Kilchoman is one Tours available of the few distilleries in Scotland who malt their own barley on- LOCATION site, meaning you can start your Bruichladdich. tour right at the beginning of the whisky making process. HOW TO GET THERE Visit Islay by air or ferry. Take Tours range from the standard your own car on the ferry to get Distillery Tour (£6), which includes around or simply use the island’s two free drams, to the Manager’s taxi companies. Tour (£30), where you will learn about what it takes to run Islay’s OVERVIEW farm distillery from one of the Opened in 2005, Kilchoman managers themselves, before Distillery is the youngest of all tasting a unique expression the Islay distilleries and was the straight from the cask. first distillery to be established on the island for over 124 years. OPENING TIMES Visit this authentic farm distillery Open all year though and discover how it manages opening times vary. every stage of the whisky making process on-site – they even grow SAMPLE their own barley on the farm’s • fertile land. • 100% Islay • Loch Gorm Join your expert tour guide as you journey through every stage WHERE TO BUY of the production process, you Specialist retailers and online. can even see how Kilchoman malt their own barley on the farm’s traditional malting room floor. Looking over to the at Port Charlotte on Islay

12 13 OPENING TIMES From March to September, visitors Lagavulin All year round except Christmas can help the distillery staff cut the and New Year’s Day with seasonal peat by hand at Glenmachrie ready Distillery opening hours. for drying as part of the Water to Whisky Experience tour, one of Tours available SAMPLE several different tours operated • Lagavulin 12 Year Old by the distillery staff. LOCATION • Lagavulin 16 Year Old Port Ellen. • Lagavulin Distillers Edition The taste of Laphroaig also has a lot to do with its location. Nestled HOW TO GET THERE WHERE TO BUY in a cove from which it gets its Islay sits off the south west coast Available at most major name (translated from Gaelic as ‘the of Scotland. Daily ferries operated retailers and online. beautiful hollow by the broad bay’), by Caledonian MacBrayne depart it is in the direct path of strong salty from Kennacraig on the mainland sea winds from the . to Port Ellen and Port Askaig. The moisture in the air gets into the Alternatively, you can fly from Laphroaig warehouse walls and casks, which Glasgow or Oban. gives the whisky a maritime taste profile. OVERVIEW Distillery Lagavulin is one of three distilleries Tours available OPENING TIMES that sit on the southern coast of All year round except Christmas Islay. Much like its neighbours LOCATION and New Year’s Day with seasonal Laphroaig and Ardbeg, the site Port Ellen. opening hours. occupies the shores of its own secluded cove, Lagavulin Bay. As HOW TO GET THERE SAMPLE is also the case for many of the Islay sits off the south west coast • Laphroaig 10 Year Old distilleries on Islay, its whitewashed of Scotland. Daily ferries operated • Laphroaig 18 Year Old storehouse is proudly emblazoned by Caledonian MacBrayne depart • Laphroaig 25 Year Old with the distillery name, which can from Kennacraig on the mainland • Laphroaig Triple Wood be seen from the decks of the to Port Ellen and Port Askaig. • Laphroaig Quarter Cask arriving ferry from the mainland. Alternatively, you can fly from Glasgow or Oban. WHERE TO BUY The tradition of whisky distilling Available at most major started on the spot where the OVERVIEW retailers and online. current distillery buildings stand Said to be the definitive taste long before it was built. As far back of Islay, Laphroaig (pronounced as 1742, there was anywhere up ‘La-froyg’) has been distilling on to 11 illicit stills making whisky in Scotland’s whisky island for two Lagavulin Bay. The current distillery, centuries. Perhaps the smokiest of sitting in the shadow of the ruined the Islay whiskies, it uses hand-cut Dunyvaig Castle – once the peat from the nearby Glenmachrie seat of the – wasn’t to dry malted barley in on-site built until 1816. The hallmark of kilns. Islay whiskies is peat smoke, and Lagavulin is not one to shy away Did you know that Laphroaig was from this distinct characteristic. Its the only spirit not banned during expression, Lagavulin 16 Prohibition in 1920s America? It was Lagavulin Photograph © James Gray Year Old, is appreciated the world sold as a medicinal spirit because (Migrated) [GFDL] over for its intense peat smoke of its iodine taste, a characteristic notes – a superb accompaniment to derived from the and roots in Laphraoig Photograph © Ayack a fine blue cheese. the peat. (Own Work) [GFDL]

14 15 Driving around Scotland is a great way to see more of the country but before you head out exploring by car, there are a few rules and regulations you should be aware of: www.visitscotland.com/travel/information/driving-in-scotland Be sure to check out our guides for the other four regions. Drink responsibly: find useful information about drinking:www.drinksmarter.org

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