28 to 29 September: Islay

Islay, pronounced "eye-la", was once the central headquarters of the 'Lord of the isles', who ruled an independent kingdom owing allegiance to Norway rather than Scotland. At its height, this kingdom included all of the Scottish isles, Kintyre, and even portions of the mainland such as Argyll and Ross. And it was here, on Islay, at Finlaggan, that the Lord of the isles resided and ran his court! 

Islay is not only known for its royal and rich history, but also for its fine smoky malts. It is home to many world renowned whisky distilleries. Within a couple of miles of Port Askaig we had our first treat for the day:

(It's pronounced "cull eela.")

At the end of the tour we tasted a small selection of Caol Ila's offerings. The left one, Moch, is what they call their "Breakfast Whisky." Not because you're supposed to drink it for breakfast, but because it's light enough to be had at that time. Not that we would. With crumpets and peanut butter. 

In case you're wondering, we had just a wee taste of all three. Not enough to render us unfit to ride, but just enough to understand the flavors and characters of each whisky. This is scholarly work, we'll have you understand, and is a very serious undertaking. 

After leaving Caol Ila, we next ventured to ....

Bunnahabhain! 

At Bunnahabhain we snacked on the pier that was once used for shipping in the malted barley, and for shipping out the finished product. The distillery is nestled on the beautiful coastline and you can look westover the tidal Sound of Islay over to Jura.  Stunning scenery. We had another informative distillery tour and learned that Bunnahabhain is considered one of Islay's youngest distilleries (and it was established in 1881! The history goes back a long way here!) and is also the most northerly. We had the privilege of tasting their 12 year old which was rich and non-peated as well the 'Ceobanach' which was lightly peated with a ppm of 35. Ppm (parts per million) is a unit of measurement of the quantity of specific chemical compounds (aromatic phenols) present in a whisky that create the peaty smoky flavor. The higher the number the smokier you get.

Our next stop was the Islay woolen mill. 

There has been a mill operating at this location since 1883, and the people running it now have been doing so for over thirty years. Gordon Cove, owner and master weaver, led us around the shop and shared some of his vast knowledge of the weaving arts. We were mesmerized by the looms and the amazing tweeds lying about. Ah, wool!

Only the small size of our panniers (well, and a tight budget) prevented us from walking out with half of the store!

The upstairs is a bit of a museum, with sample books dating back decades. It's neat to flip through them to see the fabrics that were produced long ago. 

This mill is the source of many famous tweeds and plaids, including those used in the films Rob Roy and Braveheart. The Braveheart tartan, designed here at the mill specifically for the film is pictured above. The shop also has royal ties, and has been visited several times by The Queen herself. Prince Charles is also a regular visitor, stopping in to discuss tweeds and fabrics to be supplied for the royalty.

The weather in the afternoon kicked up a wee, and we braved increasingly wavering winds toward Port Charlotte. Along the way ...

Yay! Another distillery! Bruicbladdich is quite a progressive distillery, experiments with different casking techniques to achieve different flavor profiles, and many of their whiskies are available only on-site. They also are home of the worlds most highly-peated whisky, called Octomore, which has a ppm of well over 200. Off the charts! We tried a wee taste, and have to agree that it's quite smoky! 

They also make a gin called The Botanist, that uses 9 classic botanicals (juniper berries, cinnamon bark, cassia bark, coriander seed, lemon peel, orange peel, Angelica root, licorice bark, orris root) in combination with 22 local botanicals that are foraged by locals who scour hills, bogs and shores of Islay for the perfect herbs.  The still used to make the gin is nicknamed Ugly Betty, and it's quite different than the whisky stills!

The gin is highly sought-after by gin enthusiasts, and we can understand why. It's very good!

The wind continued to roar outside, and so, remembering our experience in The Gale on Lewis, we spent the night at the Port Charlotte hostel. A wise choice, we think, because otherwise it would have been a stressful night worrying about the rattling and flapping tent. The hostel happens to be in an old part of the now closed Lochindaal distillery. Once a booming distillery it closed in 1929. We did hear rumors that a new distillery may start up again at this location. 

The next morning the wind had died down a bit, so we packed up and headed toward the south-east end of the island. We passed through Bowmore just in time to stop at the distillery store as it opened. We wanted to purchase a wee sampler but being 9 am this would have been unlawful. No whisky sales (or any alcohol) before the bright hour of 10 am in Scotland. Bowmore is a beautiful seaside town and we hope someday to return and visit the distillery at a more appropriate hour. 

We were on a mission- three distilleries awaited us to the south and so we saddled up and peddled like madmen to our 10:30 date with Laphroiag.

We passed this super-cute bistro, built in an old church. Clever! 

South of Bowmore we were on the A846, which has to be the longest straight stretch of road in all of Scotland. It was about eight or nine miles of perfectly straight road. Our arms almost fell asleep because they got so bored holding the bike steady in a straight line! 

We passed the Laphroaig peat bog, where they cut the peat for smoking their barley. The peat pile is about 15 feet high!

By 10:30 we made our objective ... The Laphroaig distillery! 

We met a number of Americans on the tour, who had all come to Scotland, and then to Islay, expressly to visit the Laphroaig distillery. It's a very peaty whisky, and lovers of Laphroaig are almost religious in their praise of the whisky. If you like really peaty whisky, it's a great choice.

The tour was very in-depth, and we visited one of the very few on-site malting floors left in an active distillery (most distilleries have their barley malted and dried off-site, in order to save money; even Laphroaig malts only about 10% of their barley.)

They also peat the barley that's malted on-site, and we were allowed to add peat to the kiln. Quite an experience!

We tasted the wash, which is the fermenting sugary liquid. It tasted like warm, smoky, flat beer. Yum! It wasn't that bad, really, but you probably wouldn't order a pint of the stuff.

Laphroaig in Gaelic means 'hollow by bay'. 

They are celebrating their 200th anniversary this year. 

In the still-room we were allowed to take pictures, and here you can see the size of their stills. Short and squat stills make for a smokier whisky= More ppms! Generally Laphroaig is at 40 ppm. 

A unique selfie!

The tour ended at the bonded warehouse, where the goods were all behind bars.... :-(

Following a wee taste of some of Laphroaig's whiskies, we lunched in the sun and then headed off. 

The next town was ....

Which is home to ....

 Here we treated ourselves to a unique tasting experience:

Whisky and chocolate go very well together. The chocolates are hand-selected by a chocolatier in Edinburgh, and the whiskies include a wide range of Lagavulin's wares. The tasting was led by an experienced taster, Marjorie,  and we learned a lot about judging and tasting whiskies. Marjorie's family history on the island stretches back a long way and she shared many stories of what it was like to work at the distillery in days gone by. There was traditionally a great sense of community at each of the distilleries, as small towns actually grew up around them. It was difficult work and as part of their pay, workers would get daily whisky rations!

A little further down the same road we came to the Ardbeg distillery, our last for the day. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and we relished our time outside in the sun. 

Ardbeg is known to be smokier than most other Islay whiskies and has a ppm in 50's.

We have our organic chemistry homework cut out for us! Lots to learn about what makes whisky taste the way it does! A tough study, but we think we're up to the task. 

To be honest, after visiting six distilleries in two days we were a bit whiskied out. 'How is that even possible?' we ask ourselves now! At the time, our heads were spinning with numbers- ppms, liters of wash, pounds of dry yeast added, the total production in liters per annum, number of casks stored onsite. It's like we had been cramming for a final exam in fine Islay malt!

To cure our fatigue of whisky, we went for a wee tour to ancient Kildalton to visit the ruins of the chapel and to see the beautiful Kildalton Cross. 

The Kildalton cross dates to the 8th century and is thought to be the finest carved stone high cross in Scotland. 

On our way to Kildalton we saw these contrails. Not sure what's going on here ... Did two pilots forget whether or not they left the oven on this morning???

A curious sight, for sure!

We spent the night overlooking Port Ellen, where we would catch the ferry to Kintyre the next morning. It was a quite night, in terms of weather, but the midges were mean!

And we were treated to a fantastic sunset. The perfect end to our stay on Islay, home of eight distilleries (we visited only six of them ... In two days).

Daily summaries: 

28 September- on the A846 at crack of dawn to catch the early ferry from Feolin, Jura to Port Askig, Islay. Toured Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain distilleries (before breakfast!) and headed south on A846. Visited Islay wool mill. Picnicked in Bridgend. Continued along A847 to Bruichladdich and toured its distillery. Due to extreme winds and limited sheltered terrain, we stayed at the hostel in Port Charlotte, which was originally the Lochindaal distillery! Total 34 miles.

29 September- Port Charlotte to Port Ellen, via A846. Visited the Bowmore distillery shop. Rode the straightest road in Scotland. Toured Laphroaig, and Ardbeg distilleries. Partook in a whisky and chocolate tasting at Lagavulin distillery. Visited the Kildalton cross and chapel ruins. Total 38.25 miles.