Islay Holidays 2016 – 27th June to 2nd July - a Distillery Visit Tour!

  • Suzanne1967
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    Guest, Member Suzanne1967
    Joined: 09.05.2015Posts: 68CollectionSuzanne and Lee's drinking CollectionRatings: 164

    Our summer holidays this year were a road trip to Islay, taking in Arran, Jura and Campbeltown en route, I thought I would write up our diary and experiences and also include the tasting notes for the whisky’s we sampled. Rest assured as I was driving I took my samples back to the accommodation for consumption, so no drink driving :lol:

    We did plan out the holiday, booking tours at every distillery and all of the ferries that we were going to be using, part of the fun of the holiday was the research and anticipation of trying new Whiskys!8)

    Day 1 – Monday - was an early start, we had to travel 240 miles from home in Manchester to Ardrossan for 915am, so we set off at 4am, with a stop for loo and food at the local Tesco. We were about 6th in the queue and were loaded early for the hour trip to Arran. We disembarked at Arran at 11am, had a short drive around and headed to the Distillery in Lochranza.

    Arran Distillery is relatively new, set in a beautiful location and despite arriving very early – we had planned on doing the 2pm tour and full range tutored tasting – but instead we did the 1200 tour and tasting. Tour was good, although the film – available on YouTube – was a little dated, the guide knew his stuff and was very attentive, allowing tastings beyond what we had ordered and taking time to talk and allow us to take time over our drams. Sampled – Arran 14YO, nutty, fresh, caramel and flowers. Arran 18YO, flowers, tropical fruits, dark chocolate and cherries, fresh coffee and sweet. Arran 10YO, floral, warming caramel, very "speyside" in style. Arran Lochranza Reserve, normal floral Arran, but a little harsher. Arran Bothy, similar to 18YO, finished in quarter cask, very nice. Sauternes finish (8YO), sweet, almond, and caramel, very nice. Port finish (8YO), sherry, sweet with a nice cherry and chocolate hit. Machrie Moor Cask Strength, sweet, smoky, delicious, sherbet dip. Machrie Moor (8YO standard) nice but lacking the punch of the CS. Distillery Edition 19YO Sherry Cask, Cask Strength, beautiful, sweet, lush, marzipan, floral, coffee and dark chocolate, very nice..... Brought home, 19YO Distillery Edition, Machrie Moor CS, Bothy..... Would recommend the 18YO and the 14YO as future purchases. Next an Aberdeen Angus burger in the café – most excellent and good value to boot!:razz:

    After here it was ferry to the Mull of Kintyre and then straight to the Islay Ferry to arrive on Islay at 8pm and our rented cottage in Ballygrant at 815pm, a long day!:wink:

    Day 2 – Tuesday - was Jura in the morning and Bunnahabain in the afternoon. Jura was a lovely distillery to tour, although was full of midges – the only place we were bothered by them fortunately! We got to taste the Turas Mara, Tastival and the 21 YO, the Turas Mara was rich, creamy, honey, heather, the Tastival, delicate, creamy, honey, heather and tiny hint of Peat, and the 21YO, wow, smooth, rich, rounded, fruity, creamy, honey, superb! A bottle of each came home!:razz:

    Bunnahabain was a Distillery I have heard good things about and was looking forwards to, but did not quite live up to expectation. The guide knew his stuff, but there is no real visitors centre and everything felt a little ad hoc – no bad thing – we were well looked after and the tour was ok, but it felt more commercial and less craft than I had expected. Tastings - the 12 YO, liquorice, dark fruits, coffee and really dark chocolate, the 18YO smoother and less intense version of 12, the Toit Teach very smoky, sweet, long smoky finish, and the Cruach Mhona Travel exclusive, smooth full bodied and mildly smoky, bottles of the 12 YO and Cruach Mhona were brought home.:razz:

    Day 3 – Wednesday – was Lagavulin and Ardbeg – both eagerly anticipated. The Lagavulin Tour was good, lovely room to sit and enjoy a dram, and the tour itself was informative, but something seemed missing, the specialness I was anticipating wasn’t there. Lagavulin tastings, Distillers Edition 16YO, sweet, rich and smoky, and the 200 year anniversary 8YO, smoky nose, fresher spirit and smoky, both very nice, a bottle of each was brought home. Sad to say I was slightly disappointed with Lagavulin.:confused:

    Ardbeg – one I was approaching with anticipation, but also waiting to be underwhelmed, there is so much hype around Ardbeg, and our first bottle – right back when we were first getting into whisky – cam over as just smoke, so I was very happily surprised by Ardbeg. Both the distillery, visitor centre, shop and the tour were excellent, we were allowed to try all of the expressions, starting with Ardbeg Perpetuum, light smoky nose, luscious full body, long finish, almost medicinal but not overly smoky, sweet. Dark Cove, lighter smoke on nose, richer body with long warming herbal finish, very lush. Kildalton, Supernova, Uigedail, 10YO and Corryvreckan were all sampled and all but the 10YO – which we have 2 bottles of already – were bought to bring home – the first of the expensive visits!:lol::biggrin:

    Day 4 – Thursday – Bowmore and Laphroaig – We were at Bowmore early, for the first tour, and were the only ones on it, so got a private tour! We tasted 15YO Darkest, rich and wonderful, the Tempest 10YO complex and salty, the 17YO Golden Sands, lovely but not as rich and the Devils Cask, richest yet, beautiful. A bottle of 15 Darkest, Tempest and Devil’s Cask were brought home. A stop for lunch at the excellent Salted Cod in Port Ellen – fish and chips are awesome and huge – then onto Laphroaig!:biggrin:

    Laphroaig – Again I was prepared to be underwhelmed with Laphroaig, their Small Batch and 10YO are decent, if nothing amazing, but after one of the best tours we have done – thanks Dave – top fella - and the chance to try their full range I have to revise my opinion. Laphroaig Select is reasonable, not too smoky and an easy drinking dram, Quarter Cask is a bit fuller, the 10YO is the standard expression, nicely rounded, Triplewood is awesome, really rich and full, 10YO Cask Strength is another full body and full mouth, and Lore is amazing, full bodied and really rich, a little spicier than the others from the Sherry Casks.... very impressed! Bottles of Lore, Triplewood, 10YO Cask Strength – Distillery Exclusive and 2016 Cairdeas were brought home!:biggrin:

    Day 5 – Friday - Caol Ila, Bruchladdie and Kilchoman – First off a 'Friends of the Classic Malt' Distillery, Caol Ila, so a free tour, and the chance to collect our free commemorative ‘quaiches’ for having visited all 12 of the Classic Malt Distilleries, not bad going for 12 months work ? I had heard much about Caol Ila recently so was looking forward to this visit and tasting, the Tour was fine, nothing special even though it is a very large and high capacity Distillery, we got to taste 12YO, Distillery Special, Moch and 18YO, all decent enough drams, but nothing to set the world alight, the 12YO and Distiller’s Special stood out so a bottle of each was bought home.:biggrin:

    Bruchladdie next, Tour and Warehouse Experience, not cheap, but another much hyped Distillery, so another opportunity that I was expecting to be underwhelmed. On arrival we completed the tour and then went into the Warehouse for the tasting, we started with a 27 year old Single Sherry Cask, Cask Strength Laddie! Non chill filtered and natural colour. In the glass - light golden, bright and smooth long legs. Nose - strong green apples at first, vanilla, marzipan, almonds, icing and Christmas cake, then orange and citrus, a hint of honeydew melon. Taste - smooth, very smooth, a hint of spice, big sherry, Christmas cake, hazelnuts, dried fruits. Finish, long and smooth, spicy, cherry, slightly drying but lush, absolutely gorgeous, perhaps the nicest whisky I have yet tried, and unfortunately not available except to those doing the Bruchladdie Warehouse Experience! Absolutely fantastic!! Next came a 12YO Port Charlotte, again straight from the cask, stunning, light and smoky, then finally a 10YO Octomore – wow! As it was my first taste of Octomore I was expecting the smoke to blow my head off, but actually it was much more subtle and sweet than I had thought. Back to the shop and a chance to taste some of the rest f the range, the standard Laddie – nothing in comparison to the 27YO, a 22YO Laddie, a Cognac Cask Port Charlotte and Octomores 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4, all amazing in their own ways. We brought bottles of Dark Arte, Octomore 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4, Laddie 22YO and Port Charlotte Cognac Cask – now the most expensive visit we have done!:biggrin::D:D

    Finally Kilchoman, a bite to eat in the café first – excellent food and reasonably priced – followed by a tour, a lovely wee Distillery, with very passionate folks and some lovely whisky, we got to sample pretty much all of the range and brought home bottles of 100% Islay and Loch Gorm to join the Sanaig we already have! :biggrin:

    Day 6 – Saturday – the Trip home! An early start, a packing nightmare to fit our 34 bottles and some bottles bought as presents plus all our kit into my MINI Clubman, then off to Port Ellen for the 2 hr ferry ride back to the Mull of Kintyre. The ferry was packed and the crossing in gale force winds was choppy enough to turn me green when I couldn’t see the horizon. Back onto dry land at 1200 and a 40 mile drive down to Campbeltown to visit Springbank and Glengyle Distilleries and Cadenheads Whisky shop – our first time in here and a very dangerous shop! Tours were good, the tasting excellent, a bottle each of Springbank 15YO, Hazelburn 12YO and Longrow 18YO were chosen to bring home, along with a few Cadenheads bottlings, a 25YO Dalmore, a 28YO Mortlach, a 22YO Benriach and a 19YO Clynelish… a bit more than we were expecting to buy, and also meant that we forgot to grab any of the living cask Kilcherran that was also absolutely lovely!:biggrin::)

    41 bottles for ourselves, and a further 3 gift packs – 70cl bottle and 2 glasses bought as presents for friends, a bit more than the 27 bottles I had planned for, but well, you only live once! 11 Distillery Exclusives / Travel Retail bottles, and some rather special drams, I think it will take us a few years to work through them all, but definitely worth it!:smile:

    Also collected and brought home a total of 29 Glasses – freebies from tours – 4 Copita type from Bruchladdie, 4 standard size Glencairns – Caol Ila and Laphroaig, 4 specific ones for the Distillery – Jura and Arran and the rest were the smaller Glencairn type.:razz:

    Next year – Lewis, Mull, Shetland and the north coast of the Highlands, having done Speyside, the Lowlands and Skye already we are now at 54 Distilleries visited and only about another dozen or so to visit that are open to visiting… then we go back and do Speyside again ?:biggrin:

    Thanks for reading, hope it inspires others to follow their hearts and get out and do some Visits!:smile:

  • horst_s_2 Administrator horst_s_2 Joined: 01.07.2014Posts: 507Ratings: 661
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    Thank you very much for this report. Islay is always worth a travel.

    Kind regards, Horst Luening, Master Taster, Whisky.com
    Suzanne1967 liked that
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