Islay is one of the 5 designated Scotch whisky regions. This small 600 sq.km island of just over 3000 inhabitants is home to some of the most iconic whiskies in the world of Scotch whisky, Laphraoig for example. How did such a tiny island off the southern Scottish coast end up with so many distilleries? It is believed that Irish monks introduced distilling to Islay back in the early 1400s. Being fairly remote, farmers on the island found distilling to be a good way to preserve their crops. Further, when the rest of Scotlands distillers were hiding in glens and coves from the notorious exciseman, these very men had no inclination to travel far to this island. This led to a burgeoning distilling culture. At its peak, Islay boasted of 23 functioning distilleries. Bowmore is the oldest distillery on the island dating back to 1779. Islay now has 9 functioning distilleries, with Ardnahoe being the youngest, having started distillation as recently as October 2018. The first thing that comes to ones mind when Islay is mentioned is Peaty whisky. As we've seen in past posts, peat was the fuel of choice to dry germinating barley during the malting process. The aroma of Islay peat is very different from highland peat in that it is more medicinal, tarry, iodine and burnt rubber like. In this series we will explore the distilleries of Islay, Queen of the Hebrides. @laphroaig @bowmore @bunnahabhain @ardnahoedistillery @bowmore @bruichladdich @ardbeg @lagavulinwhisky @kilchomanwhisky #islaywhisky #islay #feisile #thewhiskyadvisor #worldwhiskytours #scotchwhisky #whisky (at Islay) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx4wsh3nzf4/?igshid=xsbmc8b69y2p
