Yes, people travel from across the globe to Islay for its whisky and to discover how its made. Hopefully they also visit its incredible 19th century Islay woollen mill, another fascinating hive of industry from the past; it shouldn't be missed!

The tiny Islay Woollen Mill is tucked away down a twisting lane near Bridgend, towards the north of the island. Established in 1883, it is still in the original stone building next to the rushing water of a gurgling stream.

There is nothing ostentatious or grand about its entrance.

The welcome is simple but sincere.

Inside everything is old and truthfully some what dilapidated.

Dusty and worn, like its been there a long time.

The Islay Woollen Mill is a special place, where traditional tools and methods are still being used,

weaving brightly coloured yarns

to create bales of carefully woven cloth, treasured and sought after far away in Saville Row.

It's a place where it truly feels time has stood still. Where amidst the yarn, the woven fabrics,

the well used tools and the clanking sounds of chattering machinery one is held spellbound.

Typewriters long abandoned for computers (the Mill is online!)

but long ago established talents and values are still adhered to.
A visit to the Islay Woollen is somewhat of a time warp.
You leave feeling as if you have visited the past and its been a real privilege to do so.

Oh yes and in case you're wondering, of course we bought some plaid, it was simply too irresistible!
Check out the Islay Woollen Mill website, you'll be tempted too!

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Across the sweeping, misty landscape, below a heather covered slope, flanked on one side by wind swept pine trees, next to the gently lapping shores of Loch Finlaggan, remain the ruins of the mystical island settlement of Finlaggan. Situated in the north east of Islay it dates back to the Iron Age. It was of great significance during the 14th and 15th centuries as the centre of the Lordship of the Isles, under the MacDonalds Lords of the Isles. It is a fascinating and integral part of the history of Islay, well worth visiting.

Eilean Mòr

There are two islands, only accessible by a walkway or boat. The larger is Eilean Mòr (large island). The path across the island goes over the remains of the 13th century defences and through an area of old lazy-beds, probably dating to the 16th century.

The Great Hall on Eilean Mòr

In Medieval times the most important structure on Eilean Mòr was the Great Hall. Ruins of the Great Hall still remain. In its day it would have towered above all the other buildings, marking the status of the Lords of the Isles. This main public building was used for lavish entertaining and extensive kitchens and ovens have been discovered here.

In Medieval times there would have been more than twenty buildings on Eilean Mòr, several houses, kilns and barns all part of a 16th century farming township, some made of stone, others of wood clay and turf. They were connected by a system of paved roads and alleys. This jetty was the main access point to the island.

The St Findlugan Chapel

On the highest point of the island are the ruins of the 14th century chapel built by John I, Lord of the Isles.

It was dedicated to St Findlugan, a monk who came to Scotland during the 6th century.

The burial ground has a small group of medieval grave slabs, including one with the effigy of Donald MacGilleasbuig, who was crown tenant of Finlaggan in the 1540s.

Ruins of 16th century home of Donald MacGilleasbuig

Eilean na Comhairle - Council Island

The Council Island was connected to Eilean Mòr by a stone causeway; remains of which are now under the loch. Excavations here have revealed settlements dating back to the Iron Age. In the 13th century a castle was built over the ruins of the Iron Age fort which was then dismantled and replaced in the 1400's by the Council Chamber. Finlaggan thus became the centre of the Lordship of the Isles; an important administrative and ritual centre used for meetings and the proclamation of new Lords. It was here that the council advised the Lords of the Isles, made laws and legal judgements according to the laws made by the ancestors of the MacDonalds.

In 1494, under John II Finlaggan, Finlaggan was forfeited to King James I, ending the reign of the MacDonalds forever.

The story of Finlaggan however, lives on.

Learn how to visit about Islay's incredible historical site of Finlaggan here

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Laphroiag single malt whisky has been described in many ways

by those who enjoy its sensuous, peaty flavour.

'A dank tench of seaweed peat and salt, with a light haze of freshly mown hay, unmistakable'

'Imagine liquefying the best campfire of the summer and bottling it as pure happiness'

So how is Laphroaig's golden nectar of delight created?!

The Malting

Creating Laphroaig single malt whisky, like many whiskeys begins with the barley. Only six distilleries in Scotland malt their own barley, four being on Islay, one of which is Laphroaig. Laphroaig malts about 3 million litres annually, 20% on site (the rest in mainland Scotland) preserving the traditional methods and Laphroaig’s unique peaty flavor. The barley is bought in from the mainland and soaked for 2 days in steeps, its water being changed twice. Now referred to as ‘Green Malt’, it is laid out on concrete floors for about seven days to germinate and turn its natural starch into sugar. To ensure an even process, the barley is turned every four hours, initially with hand held ploughs and then by machine, its temperature being constantly monitored.

The barley is then shoveled to the floor below and smoked for 13 hours by a peat fire; the salty sea air mixes with the smoke from the peat; the heather, mosses and lichens, introducing the peaty flavor to the grain. To stop further germination the malt is dried for 20 hours by hot fans and then stored in malt bins to rest for 3 weeks. At Laphroaig they peat first and then dry, believing this enhances the flavour, other distilleries peat and dry together.

The Peat

The Peat fires have been at Laphroaig since the 1840's, they are about 6ft deep and need to be stoked every 20 minutes.

Laphroaig has it's own peat fields, a short distance from the distillery.

Laphroaig is the only distillery to still hand cut its peat. Traditional hand cutting tools are used which help retain the moisture in the peat. This means when the peat burns it creates more smoke and less heat maximizing the absorption of peat flavours to the malted barley. About 250 tonnes of peat are hand cut and stored at the distillery every year.

The Mashing

The next step in creating Laphroaig single malt whisky is the mashing, a process which extracts the sugars from the malted barley after it has been milled and ground into grist. The grist is put into the masher, called a lauter tun and mixed with hot water in three stages to dissolve the sugars and flavors. The weakened sugar extract from the stage three water is held back and used as stage one water for the next mash. The remaining solids, called draff, are collected and used as animal feed. The sugary extract which results from the first two washes is called wort. This is filtered through the barley husks and collected into a stainless steel wash back, (traditionally these were wooden, Laphroaig introduced stainless steel in the 1970’s.)

Fermenting

The wort is cooled to below 19 degrees and transferred back to the stainless steel washback where the yeast is added to convert the sugar into alcohol. This process takes about 50 hours creating a sweet, beer like liquid called wash, with an alcohol strength of over 8%.

The water used is very significant, each distillery on Islay has its own water source, Laphroiag’s is from the Kilbride Loch.

Distilling

To turn the wash into spirit it has to be distilled. At Laphroaig this is a two stage process first in the wash still then the spirit still. The shape of the stills is very significant and affects the final flavour of whisky. The seven Laphroaig stills are lovingly maintained and when worn out exactly copied including the dents! The first distillation produces low wines with an alcohol percentage of about 22%.

These low wines are still full of impurities hence the need for the 2nd distillation in the smaller spirit still which taked the alcohol content up to 68%. The secret is then where the cut is made creating the spirit that is finally going to become Laphroaig.

Filling

The last step in creating Laphroaig single malt whisky is filling the casks. Once distilled, the spirit is put into casks. 90% of Laphroaig casks are American white oak, bourbon casks which by law in USA can only be used once. Laphroaig uses mostly Makers Mark casks. Each cask can hold 200 litres of spirit. Laphroaig employs a traditional cooper, using tools which have not changed in over a 100 years, he ensures the condition of the casks.

Maturation

The final step in creating Laphroaig single malt whisky before it is bottled is the maturation process. To enable the spirit to reach perfection it must be given time to mature in the cask. Legally it must be stored for a minimum of three years to be allowed to be called whisky. For each year the spirit is left to mature 2% is lost to evaporation (the Angels share) creating space in the cask for the natural sea air to combine with the wood and the spirit to enhance the flavor.

Laphroaig has nine warehouses on Islay. About 62 thousand casks are stored on site, mixed ages are stored together. Different temperatures change the whisky, so no two casks taste same. Whisky from different casks of the same age are blended by the master blender to make a single bottle, unless the whisky is a single cask whisky.

When the spirit has matured into whisky it is taken and bottled on the mainland.

It is then distributed and sold around the world, an acquired firey taste like no other!

Learn more about Laphroaig by visiting its website here

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Laphroaig (pron. La-'froyg) literally means "the beautiful hollow by the broad bay". Resting in a secluded cove by the island waters of Islay it's easy to see how it got its name. The Laphroaig whisky's story began in the 1770’s when Alexander Johnston rented a farm from the Campbell estate. By 1815, his sons Donald and Alexander were distilling Laphroaig whisky and in 1826 Donald licensed the distillery. His son Dugald, greatly increased capacity and sales creating one of the world’s most iconic whisky brands. When Dugald’s brother-in-law, Sandy Johnston, assumed control, he successfully negotiated peat and water rights securing Laphroaig’s future.

Laphroaig remained in the family until Bessie Williamson took control in 1954. Bessie had visited Islay from her home in Glasgow in 1934, she joined Laphroaig to become a whisky legend; the first ever female whisky distiller, distillery owner and universally respected authority on the art of distilling whisky. Laphroaig whisky was sold to Long John Distillers in 1968 and today is owned by Beam Suntory.

We had obviously travelled to the tiny, isle of Islay (pron.'eyela'), off the beautiful, rugged, west coast of Scotland, to learn about its peaty, single malt. We managed to visit six of Islay's eight distilleries (they all offer excellent one hour tours) but with two 'connoisseurs' among us we wanted something a little extra special!

We found it at Laphroaig on their 'Water to Whisky Experience', widely acclaimed as the ultimate whisky tour, it was fabulous! Led by the delightful 'wee Jenny', who shared the secrets and stories of Laphroaig whisky, we toured the distillery and then donning our wellies (provided for our use)

were driven by Jenny for a walk across the heather to the Laphroaig whisky water source.

Each distillery has its own;

next to which we enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch,

before learning how to cut the peat at Laphroaig's peat field.

Finally, after quite a few 'snifters' along the way, we got to draw off our own drams from the cask selection, before bottling our favourite Laphroaig whisky, single malt tipple.

It is possible to become a 'friend of Laphroaig'; a lifetime's lease of your own square foot of Islay. Each plot is registered and you can collect your rent from Laphroaig – a dram of the finest! We joined the community, selected our country's flag and each staked out our piece of this hallowed turf!

It was an unforgettable day, even for the novices among us, one we would highly recommend. I just hope I remembered all that Jenny explained to us about the fascinating Laphroaig whisky making process to tell you next!

Learn more about the tours at Laphroaig Distillery here

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Nestled within small inlets along the mystical, low lying coastline of the small Scottish island of Islay, whose rhythm is dominated by the seasons and the sea, are a collection of single malt whisky distilleries. Each one producing their own unique, liquid gold, treasured by whisky connoisseurs the world over; Islay single malt whisky.

When you visit this gently undulating island, a surprising 2 1/2 hour ferry ride from the mainland and just 25 miles by 15 miles in size, it hardly seems credible that such an international business can exist here.

The island of Islay

At first sight time seems to have stood still. A small collection of close knit communities, like Port Ellen where we stayed,

scattered across the peaty moors which in early September are carpeted in a soft pink heather.


It is believed that Irish monks first introduced the art of distillation to Islay in the 14th century.
The local crofters grew a type of barley and using water from the natural lochs and rivers

and the unlimited supply of peat, a craft was begun.

The Islay distilleries

Each distillery is carefully located to allow the transportation by boat of barley and whisky casks across the sea. Dating back to the 18th century, these once tiny, family run businesses have survived the ravages of time and despite mostly now being owned by large multi-nationals have preserved their individual identities. Today eight distilleries remain including:

Ardbeg

Lagavulin

Bowmore

The oldest distillery

Caol Ila

Producing the most volume

Bunnahabhain 

Laphroaig

The only distillery to still hand cut its peat and to have a Royal Warrant, a favourite of Prince Charles!

Next time our we must visit the other two, Bruichladdich ( producing the island's un-peated whisky) and Kilchoman.

The story of Islay is enduring. When you stand on its craggy shores, the wind tearing at your hair, the salt hair filling your nostrils, it hardly seems possible that this tiny corner of the British Isles could be so renowned.

The natural gifts of Islay’s fresh sea air, mineral rich water and peaty bogs, combined with malted barley encapsulated in a bottle.

A special place to be sure; and not just because of its whisky. Its natural beauty, its history and the hospitality of its softly spoken people will create a treasured memory, one you are unlikely to forget…..

Next time, a tour of Laphroaig!

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