Tag: Islay

Octomore Whisky (and Series 15)

Of the many whisky distilleries, brands, and names that make up the landscape of Islay, few are as storied or as enigmatic as Octomore. “The most heavily peated whisky in the world” is the tagline that invariably accompanies the name, and whilst that’s an easy feature or hook for the brand to hang its hat on, it has always struck me that it risks underselling the whisky. For there is so much more to appreciate about Octomore than its mere peating levels.

Octomore is not a whisky distillery. (At least, not anymore. The original Octomore distillery was in operation from 1816 to 1852.) It is one of three different styles or variants of whisky made at the Bruichladdich distillery on Islay. As such, the story of Octomore cannot be told without first telling the story of Bruichladdich.

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Bruichladdich 18yo & Bruichladdich 30yo

Of all the distilleries on Islay, Bruichladdich surely has the most interesting story to tell from the last 25 years.  Yes, much has been made of Ardbeg coming back from the dead, and its story is certainly compelling.  Bruichladdich’s story, however, has a bit more grit.  Its tale speaks more of hard work and toil; of sweat and determination by a small and dedicated team of personnel; of a community that rallied; and an operation that ran off the smell of an oily rag.  Many years later, it also speaks of reward.

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Visiting Scotland when your partner doesn’t like whisky

When planning a whisky trip to Scotland, most keen whisky tourists typically plan their itinerary by plotting out the key distilleries they want to visit, and then they crudely join the dots by shoehorning in the requirements and logistics of accommodation, transport, and food.  That’s all well and good but, as you quickly discover, distillery tours and visiting times are generally condensed between the hours of 10.00am and 4.00pm – leaving you with some blanks to fill in your days.  Also, as we explored in this article here (scroll down to point no. 7), trying to get your various distillery tours aligned without clashes or overlaps is a tough challenge.  Another consideration is that – as a very general generalisation – it would be fair to say that most whisky enthusiasts who would plan such a dedicated whisky pilgrimage to Scotland often have partners that don’t share a love of whisky to quite the same level of fanaticism. 

Accordingly, when planning a trip to Scotland with your partner, you’ll often need to incorporate stops, side-excursions, and other attractions to keep your other half happy….and not sentence them to the drudgery of sitting in the distillery car park while you’re inside having fun.   To keep the mood happy between the two of you as you traverse around the country, here are some worthwhile destinations, attractions, and other things to do in Scotland that are all near distilleries or that you’ll pass through as you hop from distillery to distillery….

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The complete guide to peat and peated whisky

Are you wanting to know more about peat and smoky whiskies?  Want to know what makes a whisky smoky in the first place?  Peat is one of the least understood aspects of the whisky industry, but fear not:  Our complete guide to peat will make you an instant expert on the topic.

Most whisky drinkers will remember and can pinpoint the first time they tasted a heavily peated whisky.  Like a fork in the road, it was probably a “love it or hate it” moment….there is rarely middle ground or ambivalence when your tastebuds first encounter a truly peaty, medicinal, smoky whisky.  But things change…

Would it be crude to suggest that Scotch whisky drinkers thus fall into three camps?  There are those that hate peated whisky; those that love peated whisky; and those that are actively and earnestly transitioning at some point between those two extremes.  No matter where you sit on that three-pointed scale, this guide will assist you in understanding all the ins and outs of peat and the role it plays in Scotch whisky.  (And we’ll touch on Irish whiskey, too).  So settle in with a dram of your favourite malt and let’s cover some facts and dispel a few myths….     Continue reading “The complete guide to peat and peated whisky”

Islay – Its distilleries and its whiskies

[Updated 2024] With Islay’s smoky, pungent, peaty whiskies gaining increasing popularity and traction around the globe, and with whisky tourism to Islay growing, now is a great time to come to terms with the island and its whiskies. Here’s a unique and new way of presenting Islay’s critical information….

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Ardbeg Grooves

Groovy is a term that disappeared from common vernacular. In fact, were it not for Mike Myers and the Austin Powers films, there would be several generations now that would be completely unaware of its application. Groovy became cool; cool became hot; and hot became cool again. Meanwhile, some distilleries got on with churning out delicious whisky.

“Grooves” is the name of this year’s annual Ardbeg Day release, and the marketing and imagery that accompanies it is the 1960’s hippy era of peace and love. “Peat and love” is thus the key phrase here and Ardbeg Day celebrations around the world will be based on this very theme.

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10 things every whisky lover should know before visiting Scotland

[Updated April, 2024]  Visiting Scotland soon? Are you planning a trip to Scotland to visit your favourite whisky distilleries?  Yes, for every whisky lover, it’s the ultimate pilgrimage:  After listening jealously to other people’s travels and dreaming of making it to the promised land, you’ve FINALLY saved up for and planned your first whisky trip to Scotland.  Exciting times!

Of course, every first-timer always asks the same questions in the early stages of planning:  Where’s the best place to stay?  Which distilleries should I visit?  Should I hire a car?  Do I have time to get to Islay?  How many days should I spend in Speyside?  Is the trip up to Orkney worth it? 

Naturally, the answers to these are highly subjective and individual.  They’ll depend on your budget, the amount of time you can spare, which distilleries are your favourites, and what transport options are at your disposal.  But there are a few things to appreciate about visiting distilleries that you won’t read in the guide books or find online.  Here are ten things you ought to know before heading off to Scotland…

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Ardbeg An Oa

With so many different special releases of Ardbeg that catch everyone’s attention each year (i.e. the annual Ardbeg Day releases such as Kelpie, Dark Cove, Perpetuum, Auriverdes, etc, or the limited release of the 21yo), it’s easily to forget that Ardbeg’s actual core range consists of just three bottlings:  Uigeadail, Corryvreckan, and the 10yo.  Ardbeg’s An Oa now changes that…

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Ardbeg Kelpie Committee Release & Ardbeg Untamed

For the review and tasting notes of the Ardbeg Kelpie Committee Edition, scroll further down.

With multi-tasking all the rage these days, this piece combines two distinct happenings involving Ardbeg.  The second of these relates to Kelpie, this year’s new release to coincide with Ardbeg Day.  But before we try and conquer that wee beastie, have you heard of Ardbeg Untamed?

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Ardbeg Twenty One

Ardbeg. That wonderful Islay distillery with a cult following so devoted, over 120,000 fans from over 130 countries have pledged their allegiance to ensure the distillery never closes its doors again.  Again?  Yes, Ardbeg has quite a tale to tell…

Ardbeg has a weight, a brand, a persona, that is bigger than itself. It has a reputation for huge, bold, peaty whiskies, and its name travels so far and with such reverence that you could be forgiven for thinking it’s the biggest distillery on Islay.  In truth, it’s actually the second smallest!  With just one pair of stills churning away, its potential annual production capacity is just a trickle over 1.1 million litres.

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