IN THE FAR west of Scotland, only 25 miles from the coast of Northern Ireland, lies a whisky-producing island known as Islay. At 239 square miles it is slightly smaller than Singapore (260 sqm), yet this mossy, windswept rock is home to seven of Scotland’s greatest distilleries: Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig, as well as two of the newest, Kilchoman and Ardnahoe.
Long-term and passionate lovers of whisky, my wife and I arrived one autumn evening in Islay’s Port Askaig after a rainy, two-hour crossing from the mainland. As our ferry squeezed slowly up the narrow channel that separates Islay from its sister island, Jura, it was already growing dark and the tiny port was lit up. Caledonian MacBrayne, the ferry company that keeps Scotland’s islands supplied in all weathers, is very efficient at loading and offloading.
We were swiftly marshalled off, and followed everyClose to Bowmore stands Islay House, which was built by Sir Hugh Campbell of Cawdor in the eighteenth century. Sir Hugh’s great grandfather, Sir John Campbell had been granted the whole of Islay by the Scottish Crown. His mission for King James VI was to tame the troublesome local lords who ruled the islands in almost complete independence. He succeeded.
