There is just something about Islay that keeps hold of whisky drinkers, and it isn’t necessarily always about peat.
Poetically, there is something remarkably beautiful about traveling to a remote island that is populated by distillery buildings more than anything else. The island has 10 working distilleries, following the recent reopening of Port Ellen. So, what is the attraction to Islay? Why does it captivate so many of us?
Let’s start with the biggest attraction. Peat.
Interested in learning more about the distilleries on Islay? Check out our ultimate guide to Islay distilleries.
Islay’s Peated Whiskies
It is the only style of whisky in the world that divides people as soon as the bottle is opened. You can watch an entire crowd at a bar and once the smell of a freshly popped Laphroaig or Ardbeg hits their nostrils, you can visibly see the crowds part in either love or hate for that infamous smell of iodine, TCP, and medicinal aromas that are so synonymous with whiskies of Islay.
But an ace up the sleeve of Islay is that not everything is peated. If you can think of a style of whisky then chances are that a distillery has produced it, just perhaps not released. When it comes to unpeated stocks, we can rely safely on Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain to fulfill the desire for something salty and rich in flavor, but just not reliant on that very distinctive, powerful aroma of peat.
Variety is the spice of life, and even with its reputation, Islay has variations on distillery styles to make us water at the mouth for as long as we’d like.
The History of Islay Distilleries
Islay was once a smugglers’ paradise. Smuggling was a global trade from the 1600s onwards, helped in part by the smuggling of rum out of the Caribbean across the world. But whisky had huge amounts of this, with most of the whisky smuggled from Islay ending up in northern Europe. It is one of the reasons that most bottles of whisky from Islay are in darker, less transparent glassware. Very difficult to see what was inside when stopped by officials who could or couldn’t be easily bribed.
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Let’s also look at Lagavulin as a key example of this history. Lagavulin was the only distillery to survive of 10 smaller and also illicit distilleries started around 1742.
It was then turned into a legal entity in 1816 by John Johnston. It underwent numerous ownership changes until the Mackie family became owners and built a second distillery on site called Malt Mill. That smaller distillery was closed in 1962, with its limited output becoming some of the most sought-after whisky in the whisky world.
The Future of Peated Whiskies
The use of peat and its function in whisky is a huge talking point in the world right now, and this impacts nobody more than the Islay distilleries and their consumers.
Peat is an incredible natural resource, it is one of the best absorbers of carbon dioxide on the planet. It also helps make Scottish water some of the best in the world, as it is an amazing filtration device, as well as a natural habitat for a large amount of Scotland’s wildlife.
But is there an alternative? Well, we don’t know yet. Other distilleries throughout Scotland and the world have smoked their whiskies with other ingredients found naturally in their environments. You can be sure that distilleries are helping to secure the future of their style of whisky, whether that means using an alternative or using less in the general processing of their liquids from wort into spirits.
The use of this hydrocarbon is important historically to Islay and its surrounding islands, not only is it famous for using in their whiskies – it was used for the building of houses, the cooking of food and has become one of the most important sources for fuel in the history of the island. But with the demand for peated whisky growing it is a question that has to be answered at some point via new regulations or an outright alternative.
My Rankings of the Islay Distilleries
I’ve chatted to so many Islay fans over the years and these rankings change all the time, but an interesting factor for me is the way in which Laphroaig is discussed. For some it is number one, for some it is number eight, and it’s genuinely incredible how fans of the peated style can differentiate between the changes in texture, scent, and taste when it comes to these whiskies with such powerful aromas that put most people off at first.
I’ve left my own rankings below…ready for some controversy. I have left out Port Ellen, as I have yet to sample new releases, and Ardnahoe, as it has only just released its inaugural single malt.
1 – Laphroaig
2 – Kilchoman
3 – Lagavulin
4 – Caol Ila (Independent bottles preferred)
5 – Bunnahabhain
6 – Ardbeg
7 – Bruichladdich (Port Charlotte)
8 – Bowmore (unless it’s cask strength, in which case #1)
Islay Folklore
Scotland is certainly not short of folklore from across the country. But Islay seems to be a focal point for some of the wilder stories that have gained ground. For example, there is the ever-present story of the Devil taking refuge in the round church, where he had no corner to hide after deciding to visit the island. I mean, if you’re the Devil and you’re going to visit a whisky-making part of the world then Islay would make sense. Bowmore made great use of this story with their Devil’s Cask release about a decade ago.
Another tale revolving around a bottle of Bowmore is the story of a headless horseman galloping his way around the island. A local Islay resident walked in on the ghost in a house and saw a huge amount missing from the bottle. I guess if you’ve got no head then your gulps are pretty large when it’s straight from the bottle.
Outside of the ghost stories and odd visits from the Devil himself, the mystery remains of an island whipped by the winds of the Atlantic where people have chosen to illegally, and then legally distill whisky for over 250 years.
The Whisky
Islay whiskies may be divisive, but there is no doubting their popularity and allure. Whether it’s because the smell is too off-putting, or because it’s beyond enticing, Islay is the home to some of the most famous and world-building whiskies that are responsible for how we look, taste, asses and gauge whisky in the modern world. Bowmore has adopted a very premium approach in its modern guise. It may not have been the first to do it, but it is one of the best at doing it. All of it is built and based on the reputation they’ve built over a few centuries at this point.
Laphroaig will divide even the most die-hard peated whisky fans, let alone someone who is told to try it for the first time in their lives. The smell of a freshly cleaned hospital is what greets most people on their first adventure of Islay whisky, but underneath the intensity of Laphrpoaig’s smells is a wonderfully white chocolate and hazelnut-driven profile that continues to be one of the most complex styles of whisky on the planet.
Those are just two of the examples of why Islay is so fantastic and steadfast in the world of whisky. I doubt anyone reading this has never tried an Islay whisky before, but in the event you haven’t, please take your time and don’t rush it. You shouldn’t rush whisky anyway, but please do take Islay with a steady pace, as when rushed it can be commonly misunderstood.
Islay is an incredible stronghold in the world of whisky and is somewhere that has to be assessed individually by all of us whisky drinkers who want to venture to the mostly peaty shores.
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