The Whisky Boys Visit Islay
Well, we have just returned from a lovely few days away on Islay. It’s been a couple of years since we made the journey, but as always, it never disappoints. We arranged to go with Scott and Nicola and we all had different agendas.
Along with The Whisky Boys came our Whisky partners, Jacqueline and Scott. Nicola and Scott were planning at least three rounds of golf on the fabulous Machrie Links.
Jacqueline wanted to walk on beaches, and I, well as you can expect, wanted to visit some of the distilleries, albeit I have been to all of them many times, but you know it’s something you just don’t tire of.
We were staying at The Machrie, which was very convenient for our golf lovers, also, they rated it as one of the best courses they have ever played. So we had three days of wonderful food and luxury, which is always something that helps you ease out of winter.
I appreciate that February is out of season, and with Scotland having just been battered with one of the worst storms in history, it was disappointing to discover a few venues closed. Poor Ardbeg was hit quite badly and was closed, as was the local pizzeria I’m not sure of the reason, but Kilchomman was closed, which was a pity as I have not visited their new gift/coffee shop.
My wife had wanted a walk on Machir beach, which was blustery but stunning. To be the only two people on such a beautiful beach is a real privilege, but I had the incentive of thinking I could pop into Kilchomman, but it was not to be.
On a more positive note, Bruichalddich was as welcoming as ever and we took the opportunity to purchase a bottle of The Botanist (my wife’s favourite) Hebridean strength with an ABV of 51.5%.
Next Distillery was Laphroaig and this did not disappoint when we picked up a bottle of Quarter Cask.
The next distillery was Bowmore and surprise surprise, I acquired another bottle, this time it was a 14 Year Old Travel Exclusive finished in a Bordeaux Cask. We were actually of the opinion that Bowmore were offering some of their expressions at very competitive prices.
Then on to Caol Ila, this was my first visit to their new gift shop and visitor centre. I was very impressed. The views over the sound of Jura and the Paps are fantastic and even if you are not a Whisky lover this distillery is worth a visit and finally, we popped into Ardnahoe.
We had hoped to grab a bite to eat, but unfortunately, they were only providing drams tea/coffee and cakes. Personally I think this is a good combo, but not for the soup and sandwich brigade. Hopefully come spring/summer they will up the menu. I purchased a couple of bottles of Hunter Laing’s Journey Series. This series consists of 4 expressions:
Islay Journey
Campbeltown Journey
Hebridean Journey
The two expressions I purchased were the Islay (of course) and the Campbeltown.
Many of the Whiskies that I purchased, I have previously had, but I am looking forward to revisiting them and will revisit them with a tasting which I will post in due course. The whole short visit was really enjoyable, helped immensely by the luxury and attentiveness of the Machrie staff. The food was wonderful; of course this did involve lots of oysters and lobster. We have both come back benefiting from the wind blowing a hoolie, clearing our heads, and drinking in all the fabulous vistas. We feel very chilled, relaxed, and recharged.
