Tag: Christmas

Christmas 2024 Islay whisky nr.2 (and some Islay chocolate)

Islay Whisky News & Links

Swiftly following on from yesterday’s Christmas 2024 Islay whisky nr.1 yesterday I’ve opened the second bottle I had picked for this year’s Christmas today on Boxing Day. Not only that, I also got out some nice chocolate to enjoy with it after enjoying some Salmon with lemon pepper earlier this evening.

Picture of a bottle of Kilchoman 12 year old single cask Islay single malt whisky, a dram next to it. Also some Islay Cocoa chocolate in the foreground.
Christmas 2024 Islay whisky nr.2 (and some Islay chocolate)

This is a Kilchoman 12 Year Old Single Cask bottling, cask 504/2012. Matured in a bourbon casks for over 9 years before being finished in a Calvados cask for over 3 years. My bottle is 114/240. I think it’s a distillery shop only release, so not available online. Quite different to the Port Charlotte I enjoyed yesterday, I’d say much sweeter with my untrained palate. But I also like it a lot.

Now on to the chocolate: I picked up some Islay Cocoa chocolate during my visit in November. I can’t seem to find it online, but the one I started tonight is called “Festive Dark”. It’s a 70% Colombian chocolate filled with salted hazelnut praline and toasted almond pieces. Or in other words, brings together what I like, 70%+ (ideally 80-85%) dark chocolate and nuts. I think I finished probably 80%+ of the bar today, it’s that good. I’ve got another chocolate bar to start, but that’s for New Year’s Eve, so watch this blog….

Christmas 2024 Islay whisky nr.1

Islay Whisky News & Links

Christmas 2024 is well under way. Yesterday evening (Christmas eve) I enjoyed some nice Wagyu (or at least that’s what they claimed it to be) burgers with a nice bottle of Sublime Stout by Fyne Ales, picked up during the return drive from my last Islay visit. After some nice chocolate ice it was time for the first bottle open of a nice Islay single malt whisky:

Picture of a Port Charlotte valinch bottle OLC: 01 2013 with a filled glass
Christmas 2024 Islay whisky nr.1

This is a Bruichladdich Port Charlotte valinch OLC: 01 2013. ask no. 2582, 2nd fill Oloroso butt matured, distilled 17/Apr/2013, 11 aged years. My bottle is 215/810. I’ll leave the tasting notes to someone else, but I’m enjoying it very much.

I haven’t started the chocolate just yet, hopefully will get to that on Boxing Day together with the second Islay single malt bottle opening. More about that soon.

Merry Christmas with some Islay wreaths

Islay Events

So there we are, Christmas 2024 has arrived, Christmas Eve today. Time for some Christmas greetings and more. A selected few have received the physical form of these greetings, unfortunately I couldn’t send them to everyone. This year’s Christmas cards come courtesy of Islay Prints and have a maritime theme:

Picture of two Christmas cards showing maritime Christmas wreaths
Christmas Wreath Cards courtesy of Islay Prints

A slightly different take on a Christmas wreath, inspired by the sea all around Islay. And I wrote on these cards to relatives and close friends under the light of the Islay lamps I’ve mentioned previously.

Have a great Christmas, hopefully with a few Islay treats. I’ve got some chocolate from Islay Cocoa and of course some Islay whiskies to open. I haven’t decided which ones yet, but I will aim to share my choices over the coming days. Feel free to share your treats in the comments.

Crom Dubh na Nollaig, Christmas and Islay

Islay Fun

Over the last few days I’ve seen a few posts, mainly on Facebook, about Crom Dubh na Nollaig, a mystical creature which was used to scare children on Islay to behave around Christmas. Usually the post contained some AI generated image of said creature, so I couldn’t resist to create my own version before we get to what the story behind it is:

Picture of a creature with ram like horns sitting on a coastal cottage under dark stormy clouds
Crom Dubh na Nollaig (as imagined by AI)

Usually the story went something like this:

On the Isle of Islay, people once told the story of Crom Dubh na Nollaig, a creature like Krampus, to scare children into behaving at Christmas. Legends said that screams from the chimney marked his arrival, though it was often just the sound of the winter wind.
This Scottish Christmas monster is mostly forgotten now, but it was once an important part of the holiday season.

Several Ileach have commented on it, some had heard of it, many others hadn’t. As usual there is some truth in the story:

Back in 1969 Peggy Earl (who passed away in 1978) told Mary MacDonald about celebrating New Year and a Christmas creature:

The contributor says that although New Year was an important celebration, Christmas was also kept. Children were threatened with ‘Crom Dubh na Nollaig’, a creature that howled down the chimney.

Please take a minute and listen to Peggy’s story here.

I believe the comparison to Krampus is a later addition, but I don’t think it’s right. While Krampus was used to scare Children I think the link is mainly made to get people familiar with the better known Krampus interested.

From some articles I’ve seen the creature isn’t only an Islay story, it seems to also be known in other parts of the Hebrides, possibly also Ireland (if anyone from Ireland reads this and knows, can you let us know in the comments?).

Either way, a story worth preserving, I hope you found it interesting as well.