Whisky Region: Islay

For the fourth article in this little series on the regions of Scotland, as I’ve come to call it, and having already taken a look at the Highlands, Speyside and Campbeltown regions, it’s time to move on to something a bit more fiery – or smoky, at least. Having risen to quite some fame in the last few decades, the Islay region is cherished by many for its exceedingly potent and smoky produce. It boasts no fewer than eight distilleries, and quite a few big names at that, which surely makes it the most important island in Scottish whisky production.

With ‘only’ eight distilleries in the region, I’m going to go ahead and name all of them. Not only will this provide me with an excellent chance to show off my almost overwhelmingly solid knowledge of distilleries, but it will also give an idea as to the importance of the region. Are you ready? Here they are: actually no, hang on a second, I’m going to organize this a bit better first. I will not only list them, but I will do so in a more useful manner. The distilleries of Islay can be divided into three categories based on their peat content, and as such I will start with the kids, move on to the college kids and finish with the big boys;

Nursery school: Bunnahabhain & Bruichladdich

College: Caol Ila & Bowmore

Kilt-wearing ginger loonies: Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg & the new (est. 2005) Kilchoman

Okay so ‘Nursery school’ may be a bit of an exaggeration, all of the above are peaty, medicinal and smoky to some degree and compared to whiskies produced in other regions they are far from toddlers! That said, Bunnahabhain is a world away from Ardbeg, yet as a region it is probably the easiest to generalize and find common characteristics and flavors for.

It should also be noted that the strong peaty flavors of Islay whiskies can be an acquired taste, and a lot of novice whisky drinkers find them difficult to drink. As such it is advisable that you go for one of the whiskies that I have classified as nursery school or perhaps college before going toe to toe with one of the kilt-wearing gingers, less you wish to risk being put off.