whisky – Page 2 – (New) IslayBlog.com, a blog about the Isle of Islay, Scotland

Christmas 2024 Islay whisky nr.1

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

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.

Some Islay links for an October Sunday read

It’s a rather wet October Sunday morning where I’m writing this (and rather breezy on Islay), a good time to stay in for some Islay reading. So here are a variety of links to articles and more I’ve found. I hope you’ll find something interesting:

The Telegraph boards the well known Flying Dutchman for Learning the science of whisky on a Hebridean cruise
I’m not entirely sure if this is an Islay specific way of making it, but here’s a proper Cock-a-leekie soup recipe
Scotland Outdoors has two podcasts (an hour each, so that should keep you busy for a while), Islay Part 1 and Islay Part 2
But wait, there’s more: Out of Doors, The Island of Islay is another one from BBC Scotland
Camra has a list of Pubs & Clubs around Isle of Islay (not so sure about the clubs bit)
Royal National Mòd Gold Medal winner Ryan Johnston shares his secrets on winning (see also BBC report Lewis and Islay singers win gold at the Mòd in Oban)
A bit of Islay history/archaeology: Rare island find reveals everyday life in ancient Scots kingdom
The last one for today is probably mostly for any Canadian readers I might have (the postage costs to the UK are a prohibitive £27), found via this Threads post are these The Islay Smokeshow Made with Ardbeg Wee Beastie (Box of 6 Cookies)

I hope you found something of interest, please leave your thoughts in the comments.

Some Islay distilleries from the air videos by a Japanese visitor

Islay is a popular destination for Japanese tourists, in particular the famous whisky distilleries (some of course are Japanese owned). On the YouTube channel 空から世界を見てみたい (which according to Google Translate means “I want to see the world from the sky”) I’ve found a few short drone videos of said distilleries and more taken back in 2019:

LAPHROAIG distillery, Islay Island, Scotland

Quite misty and moody, similar conditions just down the road at Lagavulin and Dunyvaig:

LAGAVULIN distillery, Islay Island, Scotland

A bit brighter slightly further down the road:

ARDBEG distillery, Islay Island, Scotland

Much sunnier at the other end of the island, the new Bunnahabhain visitor centre still under construction then:

BUNNAHABHAIN distillery, Islay Island, Scotland

Back to the other end of the island again, no sign yet of the rebuilt Port Ellen distillery:

PORT ELLEN distillery, Islay Island, Scotland

To close a bit of Islay history:

Kildalton Cross, Islay Island, Scotland

I hope you enjoyed the videos and waved back at them.

My Islay Easter dram 2024

Happy Easter! Enjoying a nice Easter weekend in West Berkshire despite some changeable weather. Got some baking done, had a nice long chat with my sister while out on a long walk along the canal, kicked off a photography experiment/learning experience I’m hoping to apply to some Islay pictures at some point, those kind of things. And of course I’m enjoying an Islay Easter dram.

Picture of a bottle of Bunnahabhain Islay single malt whisky with a glass of it, also some chocolate Easter eggs — My Islay Easter dram 2024

This is the Bunnahabhain 2013 Banyuls Cask Finish I picked up during my last visit in November 2023. I had originally planned to open this at Christmas, but for various reasons that didn’t happen. So I pushed it out to this Easter and am very much enjoying it now, with some dark chocolate Easter eggs (of both the hollow and solid variety).

I hope you’re having a nice Easter as well, maybe with a good Islay whisky.

Reopening of Islay’s Port Ellen distillery receives a lot of press coverage

As was to be expected the reopening of one of Islay’s (not) lost (any more) distilleries received quite a lot of media attention. After a lot of work Port Ellen distillery is back in business, looking quite fancy in parts. They are quite similar to an extent (at least partially based on a press release I’d assume), but here are a few press mentions:

scottish licensed trade news – Port Ellen revival promises a ‘trailblazing new light’ for Scotch Whisky
Whiskey Raiders – ‘From Islay to the World!’: After Over 4 Decades of Slumber, Iconic Port Ellen Scotch Whisky Distillery Awakens
The Whisk(e)y Wash – Port Ellen Distillery Finally Reopens
The Spirits Business – Port Ellen distillery back in business after 40 years
The Financial Times – The rebirth of Port Ellen whisky
The Scotsman – Port Ellen Distillery on Islay reopens – here’s what visitors can expect including free tours

Those are the main ones I came across, there were more….

Islay ferry problems for Fèis Ìle make it on to the BBC website

The biggest (by far) event on Islay’s annual event calendar, Fèis Ìle, has a bit of a problem: Not enough ferries to get the many visitors expected for it to the island. So far working with Calmac hasn’t brought any additional sailings for the crucial period, so they’ve gone on a publicity blitz to hopefully get things moving.

There have been reports in several of the Scottish papers (most unfortunately behind paywalls, so can’t really link to them). Now even the BBC has picked it up and made it a fairly big report:

Islay whisky festival warning over ‘inexcusable’ ferry disruption

Hopefully this will help and get things moving.

A few Islay links for mid March 2024

While spring is hopefully on its way today is rather grey and dull where I am at the moment, a good time to catch up on some Islay reading. So here are a few Islay related links I came across recently:

Forbes shares 5 Things You Should Know About Bessie Williamson, The First Woman To Own Laphroaig
The Guardian reports about the discussion about a proposed salmon fish farm off Gigha, just across the Sound of Jura from Islay
The Press & Journal writes about the changes at the (soon former) Islay Hotel in Port Ellen, which will become the “Ardbeg House”
Scottish Housing News has an update on the 16 new homes being built in Port Charlotte on the Rhinns of Islay
A different Islay with a different fire engine than we’re used to, but this article mentions an Islay Fire Hall (I assume that’s what we call Fire Station) and has a picture of an Islay Fire Truck (aka fire engine)
Bruce has a nice picture of a female Hen Harrier at Gruinart on Islay
A short report on Islay RNLI assist stricken fishing boat off Jura
The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society shares memories from a visit to Islay SCD

That’s all I’ve got for now, I hope you found some of the links interesting. More to come some other time.

Islay’s Loch Gruinart and Killinallan (and Lagavulin) from a drone

From planes to drones with a nice video mostly showing one of Islay’s nicest beaches from the air (you also get a few impressions of Lagavulin distillery). I’ve walked this beach many times, during the Islay walking week, on my own, with my sister Imke and with my late parents. The last one means it has some special memories for me, as it was my mother’s last and my father’s only Islay visit. The beach is around Killinallan Point, stretching out to Gortantaoid. While filmed on a mostly overcast day the views are still beautiful:

Islay, Scotland | Stunning Remote Beach, by Drone

If you decide to walk here look out for the tides, it’s much easier to walk at low tide as during high tide the water can come quite close to the dunes. For a circular walk you can walk on the track to Gortantaoid and return via the beach or vice versa.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) imagines Laphroaig distillery on Islay at Hogmanay

Following on from yesterday’s AI Happy Islay New Year I played a bit more with Microsoft’s Copilot / DALL·E 3 from OpenAI. The prompt was fairly vague and not much really reminded me of Islay. So I thought, let’s try to be a bit more specific and ask it to “Create a picture of Laphroaig distillery on Islay with fireworks above during a clear night with the Milky Way above”. Assuming the AI has been trained on some pictures of the real thing it should be able to create something that at least remotely resembles the real thing. Well…..

Looks more like a factory with the six chimneys instead of the real single one. No pagodas either. At least some whitewashed buildings. Not sure if that’s the Sun or the Moon or fireworks on the horizon?

I don’t know what the AI has been trained on, but I assume it doesn’t know an awful lot how Laphroaig really looks. Some of the representations of the Milky Way look a bit odd as well. Some of the distillery buildings it created look more like a factory with up to six chimneys (but lacking any pagodas). At least all the results place it at the shore, although the lighthouses some versions get are rather odd.

Somehow I had expected a bit more, but then again I heard you have to be very specific with the wording you use. I might read up on it and try again some other time.

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