More info: Whisky History History of whisky making on Islay More info: Alfred Barnard The Travels of Alfred Barnard to Islay … Launch of single malt’s second edition comes eight years after its initial release in 2009. Not necessarily an official name of the distillery. Commercial distilleries began introducing whisky made from wheat and rye in the … Cult following: Islay distilleries such as Lagavulin have enjoyed a resurgence of interest. Lagavulin acquired a cult fan base after it was included in the ground-breaking The Classic Malts of Scotland selection by United Distillers & Vintners in 1988. In 2013 Laing established independent bottling company Hunter Laing & Co., and recruited his two sons, Andrew and Scott, to the board.. After the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, greater efforts were made to stamp out the illicit trade and some of Islay’s more ‘responsible’ tenants were encouraged to take out licences to distil. Bruichladdich may have been described as ‘a working distillery museum’, but in its day it was one of Islay’s most modern plants – and today is one of Scotland’s most innovative. Reports suggest that, rather than flee from the island, they went into hiding and continued to make whisky illegally. Whisky consists mainly of peat, water, barley and most importantly, it is made by people. While the expansion of the whisky industry on Islay has brought well-publicised challenges and inconveniences, there is no doubt it has made a huge contribution to a renewed confidence in Islay’s economy and to the end of nearly 190 years of depopulation. This tiny island boasts eight distilleries each with its own unique smokey character, offering a chance to try the varying styles of peated whisky. Before planning a holiday to Islay make sure to visit the Islay Bookshop for a complete selection of available maps and books about Islay's rich history, the wildlife and whisky. In 1824, the Scottish Excise Board received a complaint that ‘some of the delinquents have been fined upwards of 30 times, which has no other effect than encourage them’. A growing interest in traditional foods and drinks, and in products with bold, distinctive flavours, was exemplified by the success of the Campaign for Real Ale in Britain. And then came the single malts revival. Sales of Islay single malts have increased exponentially. The short history of nearly everything Laphroaig On the far edge of the Scotch whisky map, it's supposed that the art of distillation was first brought to Islay by Irish monks. It was … Whisky Island: This documentary charts life on Islay during the 1960s. Whisky is a key part of Fèis Ìle, an annual celebration of Gaelic history, poetry, song and dance. The distilleries provided an income for hundreds of islanders and their families, but there were very few well-paid positions in management. Enter your email address below to keep updated with the latest news from Scotchwhisky.com, Whisky island: Lagavulin distillery’s iconic White Horse emblem was a notable landmark for shipping to Islay. In the worst cases, Lochindaal closed forever in 1929 and Port Ellen, mothballed that year, did not reopen until 1967. The latest moves on ‘Whisky Island’, including new, revived and expanding distilleries. Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Mull of Oa in the south of Islay. Two world wars, Prohibition in the US and the Great Depression of the late 1920s until the ‘30s resulted in long periods of closure for the distilleries. ", "Four New Whisky Distilleries on Islay - Islay Blog", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Islay_whisky&oldid=999712744, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Ardbeg village, on the south-east coast of the island, Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd, a subsidiary of, Bruichladdich village, on western shore of, Reopened as an independent distillery in 2001 and purchased in 2012 by, Bunnahabhain Bay, on the north-east coast of the island, Independently owned and established in 2005 as the first new distillery on Islay since 1881, Laphroig village, on the south-east coast of the island, Ardenistle (1837–1849) / Kildalton (1849–1852) / Islay (1852–1852), subsumed by Laphroaig 1853, Ardmore (1817–1835), taken over by Lagavulin 1837, Daill (1814–1830), ruins on road between Port Askaig & Bridgend, Kildalton (1817–1837), merged with Lagavulin, Malt Mill (1908–1962), now part of Lagavulin, Mulindry (1826–1827), at the junction of the Neriby Burn and the River Laggan, now in ruins, Newton (1819–1837), ruins immediately south of A846 between Port Askaig & Bridgend, Octomore (1816–1852), ruins near Port Charlotte, Port Ellen (1825–1929, 1967–1983), large port village of Islay, converted to a malting, Scarabus (1817–1818), no evidence of production, Tallant (1821–1852), Tallant farm south of Bowmore, This page was last edited on 11 January 2021, at 15:45. Fines were deliberately set at a low level by the island’s magistrates who knew the offenders as friends, tenants or customers. † These reflect what are often anglicised re-spellings of Scottish Gaelic. Investment flooded in to the island to extend existing distilleries and to build new ones at Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain. Suddenly, Islay was on the rise again. However, while these men might have mastered the art of distilling, most lacked the capital, the business skills or the market contacts – sometimes all three – required to survive the periodic crises which buffeted the industry. The Kilchoman distillery started production in late 2005; in location it is unlike the other distilleries, which are all by the sea. [8] Caol Ila, on the northern side of the island, across from Jura, also produces a strongly peated whisky. There were years of extreme hardship for those who had been employed at the distilleries or in whisky-related jobs such as peat-cutting and transport. There was an explosion of whisky-related criminality on Islay during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Campbell ‘farmed’ the excise duties on Islay – he held the right to set and collect the payments on the island, in return for an annual payment to the government. They called for reinforcements. Ardbeg and Bruichladdich reopened under energetic new management. Dark chocolate truffle with cocoa powder and Lagavulin Single Malt Whisky C. Dark chocolate truffle with cocoa powder and Bunnahabhain Single Malt Whisky … Opened in 1815, at one time Ardbeg was the largest distillery on Islay, supporting an entire community. Islay peat is reputedly the best flavoured for scotch production. They supplied community leaders such as the Grahams of Lagavulin, the Hays of Ardbeg and, most notably, John Ramsay of Port Ellen. Whisky from the northern area is milder because it is made using spring water for a "lighter flavoured, mossy (rather than peaty), with some seaweed, some nuts..." characteristic. Despite centuries of warfare, taxation and changing economic tides, Islay’s resilient population has kept whisky making alive on the island. Its first inhabitants were from the Mesolithic period – numerous tools and implements discovered in archaeological digs have confirmed … Job losses affected a significant proportion of a population that had fallen to under 4,000. Islay whisky is Scotch whisky made on Islay (/ˈaɪlə/ EYE-lə) or Ìle in Gaelic, one of the southernmost of the Inner Hebridean Islands located off the west coast of Scotland. Bowmore (/ boʊˈmɔːr / boh-MOR) is a distillery that produces Scotch whisky on the Isle of Islay, an island of the Inner Hebrides. Distilleries in the south make whisky which is "medium-bodied ... saturated with peat-smoke, brine and iodine" because they use malt that is heavy with peat as well as peaty water. Port Ellen was acquired by mainland interests in the 1820s, Lagavulin in 1836, and Bowmore in 1837 – the same year that Ardbeg, which was effectively in liquidation, was rescued by its Glasgow agents. But the lessons of more than 200 years of boom and bust are that popular tastes are cyclical, that demand for Islay’s single malt whisky can plummet as spectacularly as it can rise. [9], In general however, the whiskies from this island are known for a "pungent peaty, smoky and oily flavours, with just a hint of salty sea air and seaweed" because of the use of peat and the maritime climate. The distillery did not fare well, and changed hands in 1854 … The newest distillery is Ardnahoe, the island's ninth, which opened in 2019. The distillers have begun grooming young Ileachs for jobs as brand ambassadors and in sales and management – jobs which have been dominated by mainlanders in the past. On Islay they found an island … According to Visit Scotland, "most of Islay's original distilleries [some no longer in business] started as farm distilleries and retreated to secluded glens and caves during the 17th century when the excise man came calling." Some sources indicate that Irish monks may have been the first to distill whisky on the island in the early 1300s. A History of Whisky on Islay and Jura It is believed that the Irish monks first introduced the art of distillation to Islay, during the early fourteenth century. The region is characterised by whiskies with a peat smoke aroma, such as Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg. Noticing rapidly growing demand for its Islay … Copyright © ScotchWhisky.com 2021. (Normal peat bogs are invaded by trees and periodic fires kill the encroaching tree line.) 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