One Really Remote Scottish Island, Two Distilleries, Three Tremendous Whiskies

The sheep on Islay outnumber the people — which, along with the whisky, seems like a compelling reason to move there. (Photo swiped from the Islay Pictures Photoblog — next time I visit, first round’s on me)

What will you find on Islay, the rocky island off the western coast of Scotland? Well, sheep. And rocks. And peat. And, weirdly, whisky distilleries. In fact, with ten distilleries on the island (pending the imminent reopening of Port Ellen) and only about 3,000 inhabitants, Islay has to have the greatest distillery-to-human ratio on the planet (Kentuckians, correct me if I’m wrong!).

Islay doesn’t just have a lot of whisky distilleries. It’s home to some of the best distilleries in Scotland, or anywhere in the world, for that matter. I’m talkin’ Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig… the mere mention of the names gets my mouth to watering and sets my liver a-quiver. Two of my most recent Whiskies Of The Week — as always, for the fine humans at Forbes — hail from Islay’s rocky shores. Bowmore is the oldest distillery on the island, dating back to 1779, while Bruichladdich, which was reborn in 2001, is one of the most forward-looking in its practices and techniques. What do they have in common, apart from geography? Well, you’ll just have to read my writeups and find out, won’t you!

To check out my Bowmore review, click -> HERE <-.

For my Bruichladdich writeup (it’s actually two expressions in one handy-dandy review), click -> HERE <-.