The distilleries are remarkable. Each of them produces whisky that is unique, even when several of them are within a stone’s throw of each other. They all seemed to have their own style and personality as well. Caol Ila is the giant of the island producing 23,500 litres of whisky a day, 95% of which goes to blends (notably Johnny Walker). Visiting it is probably similar to visiting a Budweiser brewery where efficiency and industry is emphasised. Its closest neighbour is Bunnahabhain, probably no more than 6 or 7 miles away albeit most of those miles are down a nerve-wracking, winding road. In contrast to Caol Ila’s polished brass and giant windows, Bunnahabhain provides a cozy feel with their visitor’s center seemingly styled after a Victorian drawing room.

In the center of the island lies the Bowmore distillery, situated right around the corner from our hotel. Its location in the heart of the town probably influenced its style and character as it resembled more of a community than a distillery. Down the road lies Bruichladdich, one of the newer distilleries as it was recently re-opened and restored.

Bruichladdich, while holding onto much of the old equipment and priding themselves on tradition, are the new marketing-savvy breed of distillers. At one bar the menu for Bruichladdich’s whiskies ran across three A4 pages of a binder. They are the Starbucks of single malt whisky. I mean no disrespect by that as they do make quality whisky, it’s just a comment on their marketing skills. Just as anyone can have ‘their’ latte (skinny, tall, half-caf, heated just so) anyone can find ‘their’ Bruichladdich.

It is to the south of the island where the truly distinctive ‘Islay whiskies’ are made. Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg all lie along a single road so close together it was common to see people walking or bicycling from one to the other. For such a small neighbourhood, it’s impressive how unique each one is.

Lagavulin exudes class and care in the craft of making whisky. Ardbeg has a somewhat cheeky approach creating whiskies with names breaking free of their labels (Airigh Nam Beist) and their dog Shortie with the ’second peatiest nose on Islay’. Laphroaig prides itself on its traditions and the result of which is described as ‘the most richly flavoured Scotch whisky’. It’s hard to argue with that assessment although the flavour is a love it or hate it type of affair.

We had a great time visiting all the distilleries and enjoying their own particular events, whiskies and characters. The big bash of the festival was at Bruichladdich on Sunday and it was a truly festive party atmosphere. My favourite tour of all the distilleries we toured was Laphroaig. They are very friendly and welcoming to their fans, and if you’re a Friend of Laphroaig, it is a must visit to inspect your plot and receive your rent. The tour was informative as Laphroaig still makes their own floor maltings, dried and smoked over a peat furnace. It was great to see that aspect of distilling as well.

Ardbeg gets top marks for having a nice cafe/restaurant and outdoor seating available for visitors to enjoy a clootie and a dram. With the beautiful weather we were having, we took advantage of that as many others did as well. Sitting outside Ardbeg we got into a conversation with a Glaswegian couple. He related a story of his tour of the Highland Park distillery on Orkney a few years back.

The distillery made their own floor maltings, like Laphroaig, but they had several cats in the building. His guide said they keep the cats because the cats keep rodents out of the maltings. He then asked the guide what prevented the cats from using the malt as a litter box. ‘Well, nothing’, was the reply. ‘But we boil the malt twice!’ He then leaned over to me, “Think about that when you drink Highland Park. It’s boiled twice.”

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