Islay & Whisky - An Inseparable Pair

Whisky is an extraordinarily important part of Islay, it is constantly growing and brings in the majority of the tourism on the island. Islay is known for its whisky, having 9 distilleries producing peaty single malts that are sold and known world wide.

Bruichladdich – progressive Hebridean distillers Bruichladdich, a certified B corporation have been producing whisky since 1881. They are owned by Remy Cointreau UK limited and they are based in the Village of Bruichladdich on the southwest of the island. At Bruichladdich they distil four unique spirits – Bruichladdich, Port charlotte and Octomore whisky and The Botanist Islay Dry Gin. Visit https://www.bruichladdich.com/ and https://www.thebotanist.com/ to find out more.

Laphroaig – Laphroaig distillery has been producing whisky in the south end of Islay, just outside of Port Ellen since 1815. Laphroaig have a campaign named “friends of Laphroaig” in which you can claim yourself a square foot of land on Islay, near Laphroaig’s water source which will be yours forever! The distillery is owned by Beam Suntory and offer a range of whisky to name a few, 10 year old, Port Wood, Triple wood, for more visit - https://www.laphroaig.com/uk/whiskies

Lagavulin – Lagavulin, also just outside of Port Ellen, owned by Diageo and said to be one of the islands oldest distilleries since 1742, but created into a legal distillery in 1816. They also offer many ranges, including a bottle in the game of thrones single malt whisky collection, along with 12 year old, 16 year old and others. To find out more visit, https://www.malts.com/distilleries/lagavulin/.

Ardbeg – Ardbeg, the third of the distilleries making up the three distilleries path just outside Port Ellen along with Lagavulin and Laphroaig. It is owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy and they produce heavily peated Islay whisky and have done since 1815. Their whisky’s include, Blaaack, Wee Beastie, Supernova, Ten year old and more, along with producing and selling whisky, Ardbeg have The old Kiln Café which is an onsite café serving lunches at the distillery. Their website tells you more, https://www.ardbeg.com/en-US.

Bowmore – Bowmore Distillery is located in the capital of Islay – Bowmore and is owned by Beam Suntory. It has been distilling since 1779 and holds the name of Islay’s oldest distillery and has the world’s oldest whisky maturation warehouse named no1. Vaults. Some of the whisky Bowmore offers is Bowmore no1, 12 year old, single cask releases and more to be found on https://www.bowmore.com/.

Ardnahoe – Ardnahoe is Islay’s newest distillery, who have been distilling since 2018 and are owned by Hunter Laing and co. Ardnahoe has the backstory of aiming to be a wholly family owned distillery and it lies in the beautiful location looking over Ardnahoe loch, the water source for the distillery. Although they don’t yet have their own whisky as they are so new, they offer a range of whisky from around Scotland. They have tours at the distillery along with their café overlooking the beautiful loch. Visit their website for more info, https://ardnahoedistillery.com/ .

Bunnahabhain – Bunnahabhain distillery has been running since 1883 and is owned by Distell. At Bunnahabhain is the north most distillery on Islay and they offer a range of whisky; 12 year old, 18 year old, An Cladach , and a range of others along with merchandise in their shop. There is also the new Boat House café situated on the grounds of the distillery. To read more visit https://bunnahabhain.com/.

Caol Ila – Caol Ila has been around since 1846 and the distillery is owned by Diageo and is the most automated production distillery on the island meaning it uses mainly machinery. Some of the whisky they offer at Caol Ila is 12 year old, 15 year old, 18 year old, Moch and more to be found on https://www.malts.com/en-gb/brands/caol-ila ?msclkid=ce3e23195110171565e37caf1e4cc4e5&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Malts%20-%20UK%20Search%20Campaign&utm_term=caol%20ila&utm_content=Malts%20-%20Products%20-%20Caol%20Ila.

Kilchoman – Kilchoman “Islay’s Farm Distillery” has been around since 2005 producing their whisky through the processes from barley to bottle all on site and it remains independent. Some whisky’s produced at Kilchoman include Machir bay, Sanaig, Loch gorm, with more to be found on https://kilchomandistillery.com/?v=79cba1185463. At Kilchoman they also have a café serving lunches and a shop selling distillery merchandise and goods from around Scotland.

The distilleries not only extend the islands name across the world, but brings people far and wide to visit the distilleries to experience tours, tastings and shop for merchandise and spirit not to mention the whisky week we have each year, this industry also makes up so much of the employment on Islay. The whisky festival (Feis) week is the busiest week we experience here on Islay, it entails all things whisky along with traditional music, gaelic, Islay history/culture and much more. Each distillery spends a specific day during this week hosting an open day to promote their distillery – offering limited edition Feis bottles for sale, with food, activities and music to cater for all. This week is not only enjoyed by tourists, but locals too even if it is tiring and stressful for most.