Whiskey

[Mr Curta]

I will be spending a few days in Islay this summer and am planning to do a few distillery tours while I am up there. Has anyone on this thread got any recommendations for which ones shouldn’t be missed out? Or any suggested bottles to pick up while I am there which may be difficult to come by otherwise?

Don't miss Bruichladdich, still using much of the original Victorian era equipment.

[Broussard]

I will be spending a few days in Islay this summer and am planning to do a few distillery tours while I am up there. Has anyone on this thread got any recommendations for which ones shouldn’t be missed out? Or any suggested bottles to pick up while I am there which may be difficult to come by otherwise?

The Laddie Warehouse tasting is very good - but either don't drive, or take some kind of sample bottles with you to decant.
The new Ardnahoe Distillery is probably worth a visit, and the Kilchoman tour is great because you get to see just about everything in one place.
Ardbeg is very slick. Nice place. Good tour.
Bunnhabhain sometimes seems like the poor relation, but I thought their tour was actually rather good, and they seem genuinely pleased to see you. They were planning to redo the visitor centre so best to check whether they are open.

If you're taking the ferry, a detour to Campbeltown to see the Springbank distillery might be worthwhile. They also do everything under one roof, and have an interesting range (Springbank, Hazelburn and Longrow), as well as Kilkerran next door. The Cadenhead's store in Campbeltown is excellent. See if they'll let you look in the "cage" in the back. Often some interesting bottles there.

[smoz]

Thanks for the suggestions, Ardbeg was already on my shortlist so it's good to see it recommended, Walking distance from Port Ellen I believe. Bruichladdich sounds tempting too, I have a bottle their Port Charlotte on the go at home at the moment.

[Chukas]

Just enjoying a 12 year old Strathisla, nice dram for only £23 a bottle from Amazon 😀

[Integrale]

Anyone tasted the McCallan 18 years they sport on Suits?
How much better than the 12?
Crazy price but if it really is that good.......

Sent from my SM-G950F using TZ-UK mobile app

[Chukas]

Anyone tasted the McCallan 18 years they sport on Suits?
How much better than the 12?
Crazy price but if it really is that good.......

Sent from my SM-G950F using TZ-UK mobile app

My opinion for what it’s worth, I’ve tried some extortionate priced whisky, but it’s about what you enjoy, have had the 12 and 15 year old and a few off the non aged Macallan and it’s all personal preference.

[dandanthewatchman]

Just coming to the end of this special bottle that a fellow TZ’er bought me for my 50th

I also bought the watch off him ..... before it was discontinued




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[redkite]

Laphroaig ! Its a love it or hate it, the 10 year old is powerful but the 15 or 18 year olds are more refined. Being a Friend of Laphroaig gets you some of the specials as well.

[poshweb]

I often top up my malt stock in the run up to Xmas and it usually lasts me well.

I have tried most and have some fave's - what's yours.......

Glen Dronach 25 YO Ltd Single Barrel. Bottle Number 269/450

[redkite]

I will be spending a few days in Islay this summer and am planning to do a few distillery tours while I am up there. Has anyone on this thread got any recommendations for which ones shouldn’t be missed out? Or any suggested bottles to pick up while I am there which may be difficult to come by otherwise?

I did the half day Laphroaig tour.
Very informative following the whole process with visits to the stream, peat bog as well as all the distillery buildings. Tots of whiskey provided at stops on the way. It culminates with a triple tasting and taking away a 250ml personal bottle which you fill yourself. Get someone else to pick you up afterwards !

[HenPecked]

I did the half day Laphroaig tour.
Very informative following the whole process with visits to the stream, peat bog as well as all the distillery buildings. Tots of whiskey provided at stops on the way. It culminates with a triple tasting and taking away a 250ml personal bottle which you fill yourself. Get someone else to pick you up afterwards !

We did a very similar tour with Ardbeg, up into the hills to the loch that holds their water. Would definitely recommend.

At Laphroaig I did the "Distiller's Wares" tour, which ended with the same bottling that you mention. I also buried a miniature of my "blend" on my square metre of land that they gave me. See if you can dig it up!

At Bowmore we did a good tour where they showed us their warehouse that's on a spit into the sea. The barrels down the far end end up tasting really salty.

The best bit of the trip was the place we stayed though. A "Storm Pod" on Lagavulin beach. Literally right next door. There were seals in the bay to swim with. I caught a massive lobster with my bare hands, we barbecued it up right there on the beach. Just brilliant.

[Chukas]

Just coming to the end of this special bottle that a fellow TZ’er bought me for my 50th

I also bought the watch off him ..... before it was discontinued




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Superb dram that, cracked my first one open when my first son was born.
Have another bottle in the cupboard.

[Chukas]

Really enjoying Strathisla at the moment, the 12 year old is only £23 on Amazon prime when on the deal of the day.

[gcleminson]

Anyone thought that Nikka from the barrel is tasting different recently? Not quite as smooth and honeyed as it used to?

[Tifa]

Laphroaig ! Its a love it or hate it, the 10 year old is powerful but the 15 or 18 year olds are more refined. Being a Friend of Laphroaig gets you some of the specials as well.

I go up every year on my bike to collect my rent.
Also for the complimentary coffee on the quayside.
Good old Bessie eh?

[vRSG60]

Famous Grouse £17 for 70cl in Morrisons.
Or £16 for a litre I kid you not.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mouse]

Can I recommend Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 year old. Really different and utterly delicious (to my taste anyway). If I could buy it cheaply enough I'd fill the cupboard up

[Toast3d]

My favourite is Spring Bank 🥃. Cheers.

[HenPecked]

My favourite is Spring Bank 弄. Cheers.

But which one?

[Hood]

My favourite is Spring Bank 弄. Cheers.

Springbank
A fine independent

[andytyc]

But which one?

I always try to get the 12 year old Cask Strength when it is released. Sells out very quickly. One of the nicest whiskys I've tried. Consistently good.

[Toast3d]

I had a bottle of the 21 for when I was 21... not sure I’ll be having another bottle any time soon!

[smoz]

On Islay for a few days, visited Ardbeg today, going to Bowmore tomorrow, Monday possibly a trip to Jura, Tuesday booked on the Bruichladdich warehouse tasting, Wednesday to Laphroaig. Going to have some seriously peated out taste buds at this rate.

[Mr Curta]

On Islay for a few days, visited Ardbeg today, going to Bowmore tomorrow, Monday possibly a trip to Jura, Tuesday booked on the Bruichladdich warehouse tasting, Wednesday to Laphroaig. Going to have some seriously peated out taste buds at this rate.

Fantastico. Have a wee Laddie for me.

[CardShark]

On Islay for a few days, visited Ardbeg today, going to Bowmore tomorrow, Monday possibly a trip to Jura, Tuesday booked on the Bruichladdich warehouse tasting, Wednesday to Laphroaig. Going to have some seriously peated out taste buds at this rate.

I'd be interested to hear how you rate each tour. Nothing has been confirmed yet however I'm considering a trip around the west coast islands in September and intend on visiting a couple of distilleries.

[smoz]

At Ardbeg yesterday I was given drams of the following:
10 year old (their flagship whisky, a big peaty beast).
An Oa which was lighter and quite fruity.
Uigeadail, another big monster of a whisky, cask strength this time. Plenty of smoke and toffee, it’s named after the loch from which they source the water to make their whiskey.
Corryvreckan, another cask strength one (57%), dark fruits, pepper and seaweed. This was my favourite, will probably take a bottle home with me.
Drum, this was a limited release initially aged in bourbon casks then finished off in rum casks. You could really smell the rum off it.

As for Islay itself, when the weather is kind it’s a wonderful place to be.

[swisstony]

I always try to get the 12 year old Cask Strength when it is released. Sells out very quickly. One of the nicest whiskys I've tried. Consistently good.

15 year old springbank tonight. Generally have two or three bottles from Campbeltown on the go - Springbank, hazleburn. Glen scotia. Longrow.

[HenPecked]

At Ardbeg yesterday I was given drams of the following:
10 year old (their flagship whisky, a big peaty beast).
An Oa which was lighter and quite fruity.
Uigeadail, another big monster of a whisky, cask strength this time. Plenty of smoke and toffee, it’s named after the loch from which they source the water to make their whiskey.
Corryvreckan, another cask strength one (57%), dark fruits, pepper and seaweed. This was my favourite, will probably take a bottle home with me.
Drum, this was a limited release initially aged in bourbon casks then finished off in rum casks. You could really smell the rum off it.

As for Islay itself, when the weather is kind it’s a wonderful place to be.

If you like Corryvreckan, see if they still have any Aireigh Nam Beist in the shop. One of my all-time favourites.

[HenPecked]

15 year old springbank tonight. Generally have two or three bottles from Campbeltown on the go - Springbank, hazleburn. Glen scotia. Longrow.

I hinted heavily to the wife that I deserved a bottle of 15 YO for Father's Day. Apparently "everyone always buys you whisky, so the kids got you something else instead".

Anyone ever heard of "Lillet"? I presume it's related to the Kina Lillet that James Bond makes his martinis with. Certainly not what I something I would have chosen for myself!

[smoz]

Visited Bowmore on Sunday, they gave us three small glasses of their 12/15/18 year old. It is currently their “silent season”, each of the distilleries cease production for a few weeks over summer for essential maintenance and a deep clean and it’s their turn right now. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing from a visitor’s point of view as there are some places that you are not supposed to use cameras while distilling is taking place, such as the pot still and the spirit safe, on this occasion we were free to click away.

Went over to Jura yesterday, didn’t do a tour but stopped of for a dram of their 12 year old. Interestingly there are a couple of palm trees outside the distillery, the effects of the Gulf Stream enable them to survive up here.

Going to Bruichladdich’s warehouse tasting this morning, think it might be wise to have a decent breakfast beforehand. This one is just a tasting as opposed to a distillery tour but it has come highly recommend. They select three casks and you get to try decent sized drams of some very special and rare whiskeys directly from the cask.

[smoz]

Time for a round up of my last few distillery visits but before that just a quick observation.


Most of the Islay distilleries offer three tours:

• A distillery tour, typically costing £8-10, includes three rather small drams from their core range.
• A warehouse tasting experience, around £25. On these you sit in the Warehouse and are told a few stories while being served somewhere between three and five special whiskeys straight from the cask
• A full day out for around £150, they might take you to the source of their water or to the place where they source the peat as well, give you some lunch and (presumably) ply you with generous pourings of their rarest and finest whiskys.

A few of them also offer one that is somewhere between the second and third, for about £70. All the trips I went on were of the first or second type. This has shown me that although I tasted plenty of exceptional drams, when it comes to putting my hand in my pocket and buying a bottle, the core range offer the best value for money.

[smoz]

At Bruichladdich I did their "warehouse experience tour" this was one of the sit down in the warehouse and we will tell you some stories while pouring you a few exclusive whiskies straight from the cask. There's no denying that this does feel rather special, the whiskies they gave us came from casks that have never been made available for sale to the public and have never been bottled.

Bruichladdich have three different types of whisky in their range, Bruichladdich itself which is unpeated, Port Charlotte which is pretty heavily peated and Octomore which is extremely heavily peated, on this tour we tried one of each (the dates listed are the year that they went into the current casks, some of them had been in other casks for a few years prior to this):

• Bruichladdich 1992
• Port Charlotte 2004 Bordeaux cask
• Octomore 6.3 2009

A good tour and some fantastic drams, the Port Charlotte Bordeaux cask was my favourite, and one of the best I had all week. When I say the Octomore is extremely heavily peated, the malted barley used to create this one contained 258 parts per million peat as opposed to 40 PPM for the heavily peated Port Charlotte. It was a beautiful whiskey to sip and enjoy but not one that I would return to very often.

I treated myself to a bottle to bring home, a single cask, cask strength Port Charlotte 2008 which was bottled last year after spending ten years in second use virgin oak. It has been limited to just 390 bottles, I poured it straight straight from the barrel into the bottle myself.

I would probably be sipping on a glass of it back home tonight if those incompetent b*st*rds at BA had managed to reunite me with my luggage.
__________________

[smoz]

Final distillery trip Lagavulin, this one was a warehouse demonstration (a "pull up a chair while we pour tell you a story and pour you something special" tour).

If you google this tour you will find lots of reviews that tell you to hope that Iain MacArthur is leading the tour. It turns out that it was indeed Iain taking the tour, from what I can gather it very rarely isn't him, he's been working there for well over forty years, knows the place inside out and likes to tell a story or two.

We started off with this year's Feis offering (every year each distillery release a very rare and special whiskey for the annual yadda, yadda, yadda). It's very good but there are only so many ways that I can say that this was a flippin' fantastic drop. We then given two to compare, both had been aged in bourbon casks, the first for seven years, the other for nine, the difference was huge; the younger one was very raw and fiery but the second one had mellowed and taken on a lot of flavour from the wood. Next we tried one that had spent 21 years in sherry casks, this was another one of the best drams I tried over the course of the week. We finished of with something that was 22 years old but forgive me if I can't remember all the details.

[smoz]

Laphroaig, distillery tour, one of the ten pound distillery tours. I forgot to mention that on these you tend to get a tasting glass to take home with you and often a lanyard too (that's assuming that BA don't lose your suitcase (yes I am bitter about this)).

The distillery is in a beautiful location, Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg are all in a line on the south east coast of Islay. I could see herons, sea-lions and an otter from the banks of this distillery. When the weather is good it's a lovely stroll from Port Ellen. Laphroaig is the closest one, maybe a mile and a half away, Lagavulin and Ardbeg are probably about another three quarters of a mile each further up the road.

Laphroaig are one of a handful of distillers in Scotland to have their own malting floor so this was interesting to see (IIRC on Islay Bowmore and Kilchoman are the only others to do this, along with a few on the mainland).

They have a slightly different approach to sampling the wares here, we were given three tokens and could chose from six different whiskies, three from their core range which required one token, two that required two and a Laphroaig Cairdeas that needed three, I thought this was a good approach. There were three of us on this tour, one who didn't like whisky so the other two of us decided to use her vouchers to try a Cairdeas to share. When we told the guide that we were going to share the dram she noticed that there was only about two and a half drams worth left in the bottle so we split what was left. It was rather delicious but I am still going to stick to the ten year old.

[CardShark]

smoz - thank you for your write-ups, that's pretty much sold it to me that I need to get myself up there this September If you don't mind I might drop you a PM sometime later today.

[smoz]

smoz - thank you for your write-ups, that's pretty much sold it to me that I need to get myself up there this September If you don't mind I might drop you a PM sometime later today.

Just replied to your PM, have a good trip to the west coast.

[Kirk280]

Thought I’d post this here too:

Top tip for whisky. Pour a single measure (35ml...Scottish rules!). Taste. Now add one drop of water (only one!). Taste.

Tell me how the flavour has changed. Weaker or stronger? (This works especially well for Islay whiskies.)

Apologies if I’ve already mentioned this on the thread!

[Broussard]

@smoz

Excellent stuff. Glad you had a good time on Islay.

The Kilchoman and Bunna tours are also pretty good - the latter's getting a £6/7m investment from its parent company (Distell) at the moment (as is Tobermory and Deanston). I think Bunna's massively underrated. The almost field-to-bottle approach at Kilchoman is very similar to Springbank - they do just about everything on site (rather than send whisky to the mainland for maturation, etc, etc). Ardnahoe appears to be offering tours, too, although it's too soon to be able to sample any of their whisky...

[CardShark]

I'm now signed up for 3 Islay tours!

Lagavulin Warehouse Demonstration.
Laphroaig Distillers Wares.
Ardbeg The Ardbig Tour And Ardbig Tasting At Two.

I'm staying in one of the nearby Storm Pods and with the 3 distilleries being so close to each other it should be an easy stagger from where I'm staying to each tour, that's the idea anyway! I'm also going to be visiting the Oban distillery back on the mainland and hopefully one other, not sure which one that will be though. Depending on timings and logistics I may even get to another Islay distillery.

I'm particularly looking forward to the Laphroaig visit as I've always got a bottle of their (recently award winning) 10yr on the go, and I just know that I'll be spending some time in their lounge bar after the tour

[HenPecked]

I'm now signed up for 3 Islay tours!

Lagavulin Warehouse Demonstration.
Laphroaig Distillers Wares.
Ardbeg The Ardbig Tour And Ardbig Tasting At Two.

I'm staying in one of the nearby Storm Pods and with the 3 distilleries being so close to each other it should be an easy stagger from where I'm staying to each tour, that's the idea anyway! I'm also going to be visiting the Oban distillery back on the mainland and hopefully one other, not sure which one that will be though. Depending on timings and logistics I may even get to another Islay distillery.

I'm particularly looking forward to the Laphroaig visit as I've always got a bottle of their (recently award winning) 10yr on the go, and I just know that I'll be spending some time in their lounge bar after the tour

We did the Storm Pods as well, we were one of the first back in 2013. Lovely having a swim each morning in the bay - there was a seal that kept checking I wasn't a beached whale!

[Broussard]

Depending on time, etc, Campbeltown is worth a visit: the Glen Scotia distillery is excellent, and has a number of tours / warehouse experiences. Springbank (including the two other expressions, Hazelburn and Longrow) is fantastic, and you might get the chance to tour Glengyle (Kilkerran).

I'm now signed up for 3 Islay tours!

Lagavulin Warehouse Demonstration.
Laphroaig Distillers Wares.
Ardbeg The Ardbig Tour And Ardbig Tasting At Two.

I'm staying in one of the nearby Storm Pods and with the 3 distilleries being so close to each other it should be an easy stagger from where I'm staying to each tour, that's the idea anyway! I'm also going to be visiting the Oban distillery back on the mainland and hopefully one other, not sure which one that will be though. Depending on timings and logistics I may even get to another Islay distillery.

I'm particularly looking forward to the Laphroaig visit as I've always got a bottle of their (recently award winning) 10yr on the go, and I just know that I'll be spending some time in their lounge bar after the tour

[IanBear]

I'm now signed up for 3 Islay tours!

Lagavulin Warehouse Demonstration.
Laphroaig Distillers Wares.
Ardbeg The Ardbig Tour And Ardbig Tasting At Two.

I'm staying in one of the nearby Storm Pods and with the 3 distilleries being so close to each other it should be an easy stagger from where I'm staying to each tour, that's the idea anyway! I'm also going to be visiting the Oban distillery back on the mainland and hopefully one other, not sure which one that will be though. Depending on timings and logistics I may even get to another Islay distillery.

I'm particularly looking forward to the Laphroaig visit as I've always got a bottle of their (recently award winning) 10yr on the go, and I just know that I'll be spending some time in their lounge bar after the tour

There is a very pleasant walk between the 3 down a path off of the road. Enjoy!

[CardShark]

Thanks for your comments and suggestions guys, to say that I'm looking forward to it would be a massive understatement.

[Darklel]

Cant go wrong with Woodford Reserve or Yellow Spot

[Hood]

That was one I had a couple of nips from when at the Islay whisky festival in May
Outstanding.
German whisky shop owner bought me a dram and I returned the favour in the Bowmore hotel bar.

[zelig]

Heads up Laphroaig Quarter Cask is £28 on amazon. < link

z

[studly]

Heads up Laphroaig Quarter Cask is £28 on amazon. < link

z

I prefer the 10 yr old by far, as i think the quarter cask is rough. I wouldn't buy it at £20, but that's me.

In fact i wouldn't buy it at all.

[CardShark]

Laphroaig Select is rough IMO, I prefer the 10 to the QC however for £28 I'd buy a bottle or two... if I didn't already have a bottle or two set aside

Here's a bottle of 10 alongside an Ardbeg and Kilkerran, I'm travelling up there tomorrow so I'm having a couple of drams tonight to get me warmed up.

Whisky Warm-Up

[broxie]

A trip to the distilleries is on my bucket list. I'd like to whizz up there in the Boxster but it's a hell of a mundane drive just to get to Scotland and back. Whatever happened to Motorail?

Anyhow, this is my drinks cupboard (whisky shelf). Gins and vodkas on the shelf above ;-)

Lagavulin 16yo is my favourite.

[UMBROSUS]

Nice shelf there mate have a few of them myself

As for tha macallan being worth the money I have a couple of bottles and no they are not you will find a great whiskey suited to your taste much cheaper.

As an investment though they are quite good atm and seem to go up 50-80 a year on the bottles I have to keep.




Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app