We’re back from the Islay Festival of Music and Malt, after a successful week of pouring whisky, meeting old friends and making new ones. The Whisky Exchange Islay Pop-up Bar was a success, with hundreds of old and rare drams poured, drunk and enthusiastically raved about. All going to plan, you’ll see us back next year.
Islay is beautiful and I took hundreds of photos. Here are a few to give you a flavour of the island, the distilleries, the festival and the whisky.
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- Islay is slow to reveal itself as the ferry approaches
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- Laphroaig in the sun. Twenty minutes earlier, it was tipping down with rain…
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- Lagavulin Distillery, Lagavulin Bay and Dunnyveg Castle
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- Bunnahabhain can be a little bleak if the weather isn’t friendly.
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- Port Ellen: full of boats and whisky
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- The sandy beach in front of the Port Ellen warehouses.
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- It wouldn’t be a trip to Islay without a quick stop at Bowmore’s No.1 Vaults
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- There may not be any distilling at Port Ellen these days, but you can’t leave without a picture of the old warehouses.
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- The line-up at The Whisky Exchange Islay Pop-up Bar. The prices and the whiskies went down very well.
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- A few of the drams on the bar.
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- A flight of Port Ellens, anyone?
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- I got to be a barman again – only 20 years since last time.
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- A refreshing little number – Elements of Islay Peat, Bottle Green Elderflower, soda water and a squeeze of lime.
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- Our favourite highball of the week – mango-infused Bowmore with a squeeze of lime, topped up with soda water.
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- The most divisive drink we served: The Smoky Cokey – Lagavulin 16yo with Coke and ice. It’s actually really nice…
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- If you make it to Lagavulin, get on to one of Ian ‘Pinkie’ MacArthur’s warehouse tastings.
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- The misty insides of Kilchoman’s mash tun.
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- A dram of Kilchoman 100% Islay by the malting floor, where the next batch of Islay barley is getting ready to become whisky.
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- New spirit running at Kilchoman.
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- The weather changes often on Islay, and the sun’s not usually that far behind the rain.
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- It’s not every day you get to sit in the middle of a pile of Bowmore barley while it malts.
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- I showed too much interest in the Bowmore maltings and they put me to work.
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- Islay’s known for great seafood, and almost every distillery had something to try – oysters and Port Charlotte whisky went down very well.
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- Whenever you’re on Islay, it’s worth seeking out the Seafood Shack’s trailer – a pile of sea-fresh scallops drizzled with whisky is an excellent thing.
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- Bruichladdich head distiller Adam Hannett’s tasting was more like a TED talk than a traditional masterclass – the whisky was still excellent.
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- Jura’s open day was all about cocktails and live music, with a string of bands braving the elements to get to the island and play in the distillery’s old cooperage.
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- In true Islay fashion, one of the two ferries that serve the island broke down at the end of the festival, stranding people on the island. No one seemed to mind.
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- Bunnahbhain can look intimidating to first time visitors.
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- Kildalton Cross – the best preserved Celtic cross in Europe – is worth a visit for a few moments of tranquillity. Take a dram.
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- Ardbeg day can be a bit much after a week of celebrations.
Enjoy responsibly