The Refined and Elegant Islay Scotch Whisky

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A tiny piece of land, lying in the southernmost region of Scotland is the Islay. It has provided some excellent quality smoky whiskies to the world. Also offering scenic sights, this island accommodates a lot of tourists that come here to witness nature at its best and visit some distilleries which follow the traditional style of make fine whiskies. Take a tour and taste the authentic Islay whisky from their famous distilleries!

Islay, in spite of its small area, has managed to shelter some of the world’s finest distilleries. There are about 8 distilleries that follow their own unique style of making whiskies. This provides Islay the class-apart status. The land of Islay is just 25 miles long but houses about twenty one distilleries. It was in Islay where the process of distilling whisky began after which, Scotland followed.

The whisky made in Islay is smoky and intense and definitely has some character. It can easily challenge whisky made in any other distillery in the world. There is a lot more to this iconic whisky than just the smoky and strong flavor.

The distilleries in Islay can be categorized in to South and North. The ones lying on the north are Bowmore, Bunnahabhain, Bruichladdich, and Caol lla. The ones lying on the south of the island are Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and the Laphroaig whisky distillery. The distilleries on the south are known to produce some of the most strongly flavored whiskies whereas the ones on the north are known for their lighter notes. Some of these are known to use water directly drawn from the rivers, before the malt gains too much peat. But in spite of this, the Islay whiskies provide the much necessary peaty flavor.

The Bunnahabhain distillery has been providing the finest quality whiskies since 1880. It is famous for its mild Islay single malt. This malt has a very unique taste and is very different from any of the malts produced in Scotland. The Bowmore distillery is the oldest distillery and produces one of the most popular whiskies. The whisky is slightly peaty, not as light as the Bunnahabhain, but not as strong as the Laphroaig.

Laphroaig is known for its extra strong whiskies. The barley used in this distillery is usually produced locally and sometimes brought from the mainland. This distillery produces limited editions and some of the most expensive whiskies. The Bowmore Trilogy is one of the rare whiskies that will easily cost you a grand total of fifteen thousand pounds.

The Lagavulin distillery is famous for making some of the smokiest tasting whiskies in the world. Very strong peat from a local peat bog is used which provides the intensity and the smoky flavor. The process in which this whisky is distilled is very different from others. The slowest distillation process of about five hours for the first distillation and about 10 hours for the second distillation is followed here. About 2-3% of this whisky is kept aside for blending and the rest is sold as single malt.

The Laphroaig has its own taste and boasts of its authenticity. There is certainly no comparison to Laphroaig. This whisky has a strong and sharp flavor and provides some very rare collection of whiskies as old as forty years old. Peaty and Pungent, Strong but balanced! Islay whiskies are the best choice of some of the greatest whisky lovers around the world.