Islay whisky

Islay single malt Scotch whisky comes from the island of Islay (pronounced EYE-lə, or Ìle in Gaelic), one of the southernmost Inner Hebridean islands off Scotland’s west coast. This region is one of five legally protected whisky-producing areas in Scotland. Its whiskies are known for a peat smoke character, with well-known examples including Laphroaig, Lagavulin, and Ardbeg. The island, just 25 by 15 miles (40 by 24 kilometres), now hosts ten active distilleries, making whisky the second-largest employer there after farming. Islay draws many visitors for whisky tourism and each year, during the last week of May, holds Fèis Ìle, a Festival of Malt and Music featuring events and tastings that honour the island’s cultural heritage.

Some accounts suggest Irish monks may have begun distilling whisky on Islay in the early 1300s. According to Visit Scotland, most of the island’s original distilleries—some now gone—started as farm operations and moved to hidden glens and caves during the 1600s to avoid excise officers. Another source notes that Islay’s past is full of stories about home distilling, smuggling, and illegal whisky production, and that all eight older distilleries began as small, illicit operations. These were built near water because grain arrived by boat and finished whisky was shipped the same way. For centuries, whisky was typically aged in sherry casks, though bourbon casks from the United States are now also common. In 1806, at the Circuit Court in Inverary, Lord Meadowbank heard a case against Donald, Duncan, and Neil Mackiachan of Islay, who were accused of breaking into a cellar belonging to excise supervisor Benjamin Campbell and stealing 125 gallons of whisky. When they failed to appear for trial, they were sentenced to fugitation.

The distilleries along Islay’s southeastern coast—Laphroaig, Lagavulin, and Ardbeg—produce whiskies with a smoky character from peat, a central feature of Islay malts. This is attributed both to the water used and to the peating levels of the barley. Many describe the flavour as medicinal, with notes of iodine, seaweed, and salt. Caol Ila, on the northern side of the island across from Jura, also makes a heavily peated whisky. Trees are scarce on these islands except in plantations, so the peat lacks rotting wood; Islay peat is considered the best flavoured for Scotch production.

Other distilleries on the island produce whisky in various styles. Bunnahabhain makes much lighter, lightly peated whiskies. Bowmore, which began in 1779, uses a medium-strong peating level (25 ppm) and sherry-cask maturation to create a well-balanced whisky. Kilchoman, which started production in late 2005, is unlike other distilleries in that it is not located by the sea. The newest distillery, Ardnahoe, opened in 2019 as the island’s ninth. Overall, Islay whiskies are known for pungent, peaty, smoky, and oily flavours, with a hint of salty sea air and seaweed, due to peat use and the maritime climate. The island’s own website specifies that southern distilleries produce medium-bodied whisky saturated with peat-smoke, brine, and iodine, using heavily peated malt and peaty water. Northern whisky is milder, made with spring water for a lighter, mossy character with some seaweed and nuts. In the future, the industry may shift toward a broader range of products, including less peaty whiskies and new types.

The oldest record of a legal distillery on Islay is Bowmore in 1779; at one point, up to 23 distilleries operated. Port Charlotte distillery, for example, ran from 1829 to 1929. In March 2007, Bruichladdich Distillery announced the reopening of the Port Charlotte distillery (also known as Lochindaal), which had been closed since 1929. Other closed distilleries include Ardenistle (1837–1849), later Kildalton (1849–1852) and Islay (1852), subsumed by Laphroaig in 1853; Ardmore (1817–1835), taken over by Lagavulin in 1837; Daill (1814–1830), with ruins on the road between Port Askaig and Bridgend; Freeport (1847, location unknown); Kildalton (1817–1837), merged with Lagavulin; Killarow (c.1760–1818) and Bridgend (1818–1822), with ruins in the village; Lochindaal/Port Charlotte/Rhinns (1829–1929); and Lossit (1821) and Bal.

Among new distilleries, Hunter Laing’s Ardnahoe Distillery, between Port Askaig and Bunnahabhain, opened in April 2019 as Islay’s ninth. A planned distillery at Gartbreck Farm, south of Bowmore, was proposed in 2014 by Jean Donnay of Glann ar Mor Distillery in Brittany, France, as a joint venture with Hunter Laing, but by December 2018 the project was stalled due to a land and management dispute. In 2020, Elixir Distillers broke ground on a new distillery, to be called Portintruan, on the road between Port Ellen and Laphroaig.