Places we went and whiskies we tried
Introduction to Scotch whisky
Sunday night. Oban harbour.
How to nose and taste, and how Scotch whisky is made.
- Chivas Regal 12 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky
40% ABV - Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
43% ABV - Loch Lomond Single Grain Scotch Whisky
46% ABV - Talisker Skye Single Malt Scotch Whisky
45.8% ABV
The Whisky Den with Michelle Devlin
Monday afternoon. Tobermory harbour.
Michelle is a former member of the Bunnahabhain team who now hosts whisky tastings for visitors to Mull.
- Nc’nean Aon 17.311 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Bottled for the West Highlands
Matured in a rye whiskey cask
58.5% ABV - Tobermory 17 Year Old Limited Edition Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in an oloroso sherry cask
55.9% ABV - Bunnahabhain 14 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Feís Íle 2024 Special Edition
Finished in a ruby port cask
58.7% - Ledaig 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Peated to 55ppm
46.3% ABV
Casks and Maturation
Tuesday night. West Loch, Jura.
The importance of wood and how it affects the flavour of whisky.
- Glen Moray 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in bourbon casks - Berry Bros Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in sherry casks - Balvenie 12 Year Old DoubleWood Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in bourbon casks and finished in sherry casks - Arran Port Finish Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Finished in port casks
Bunnahabhain Warehouse Number 09 Tasting
Wednesday morning. Bunnahabhain distillery.
A tasting of whisky straight from the cask with Tilly in Bunnahabhain’s infamous Warehouse Number 09.
- Bunnahabhain 2007 17 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Initally matured in a refill cask (probably oloroso sherry) and then finished since 2016 in a muscat wine cask
53.7% ABV - Bunnahabhain 2012 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in a second-fill oloroso sherry butt
57.6% ABV - Bunnahabhain 2014 9 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in a Canasta sherry cask
It’s birthday is on 27 November, so almost 10 years old
58.4% ABV - Staoishe (heavily peated) 2017 6 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in a first-fill bourbon cask
Turns seven on 6 October 2024
60.1% ABV
Ardnahoe Distillery Tour and Tasting
Wednesday afternoon. Ardnahoe distillery.
A tour of Islay’s new distillery, and a tasting of its recently released whiskies and a preview of the next release.
- Ardnahoe Inaugural Release Single Malt Scotch Whisky
25% first-fill oloroso sherry casks
75% first-fill bourbon casks
50% ABV - Ardnahoe Infinite Loch Single Malt Scotch Whisky (not yet released)
15% first- and second-fill oloroso sherry casks
85% first – and second-filll bourbon casks
50% ABV - Ardnahoe 2018 6 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Stored in the tasting warehouse for the past three years
Matured in a first-fill bourbon barrel
57.5% ABV
International Whisky
Wednesday night. Moored off Bunnahabhain.
Whisky from around the world – there’s more to whisky than just Scotland.
- Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
40% ABV - Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey
45% ABV - Kyrö Malt Rye Finnish Whisky
47.2% ABV - Cotswolds Signature Single Malt English Whisky
46% ABV
Kilchoman Distillery Tour
Thursday morning. Kilchoman distillery.
A tour of Islay’s farm distillery – the only distillery who does every part of the whisky-making process, from growing grain to bottling, all on Islay.
- Kilchoman 100% Islay 2024 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
A vatting of 43 bourbon casks and one oloroso sherry butt
Made using malted publican barley grown on Rockside farm and peated to 20ppm
Made up of 9-11-year-old whisky
50% ABV - Kilchoman Machir Bay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Peated to 50ppm
A vatting of 90% bourbon casks and 10% oloroso butts
46% ABV - Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2024 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Peated to 50ppm
Matured in European oak oloroso sherry butts for 9-11 years
46% ABV - Kilchoman Distillery Exclusive Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Peated to 50ppm
Matured for 6 years in STR Portuguese red wine casks and finished for one year in new oak casks
287 bottles
57.2% ABV
Bruichladdich Warehouse Tasting
Thursday afternoon. Bruichladdich distillery.
A tasting of whiskies from the cask with Lewis at Islay’s most adventurous distillery.
- Bruichladdich 2003 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Made from organic barley grown on the Scottish mainland
Matured for 6 years in a refill bourbon cask and then 14 years in a first-fill
Filled into cask at approximately 69.2% ABV
Sampled at 56.6% ABV - Port Charlotte 2016 7 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in a new American oak cask with a level 4 char and toasted ends
65.9% ABV - Octomore 2009 14 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Peated to 110ppm
Matured in a refill Sauternes sweet wine cask
60% ABV
Georgie Crawford’s Tasting
Thursday night. Moored off Ardbeg.
A tasting with former Lagavulin distillery and Port Ellen maltings manager Georgie Crawford, who is now building Portintruan distillery, and her partner Niall Coulthard, Islay historian, photographer, fisherman and airport manager.
- Port Askaig 8 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (Caol Ila)
45.8% ABV - Elements of Islay Bourbon Cask Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Vatting of Caol Ila and Laphroaig
54.5% ABV - Elements of Islay Sherry Cask Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Vatting of Caol Ila and Laphroaig
54.5% ABV - Port Askaig 17 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (Caol Ila)
50.5% ABV
Lagavulin Warehouse Tasting
Friday morning. Lagavulin distillery.
A tasting of whisky straight from the cask with Alison at one of Islay’s most iconic distilleries.
- Lagavulin 2012 11 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in a heavily charred refill Bulleit bourbon remade hogshead (an ~250-litre cask made from the staves of more than one bourbon barrel)
Peated to 36ppm
52.1% ABV - Lagavulin 2012 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in a rejuvenated Bordeaux red wine cask
Peated to 36ppm
54.4% ABV - Lagavulin 2010 14 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in a refill sherry butt (unsure of type, but probably not oloroso)
Peated to 36ppm
56.3% ABV - Lagavulin 2007 17 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in a refill sherry puncheon
54.3% ABV - Lagavulin 10 Year Old Feís Íle 2024 Single Malt Scotch Whisky (driver’s dram sample)
Matured in first-fill and heavily charred refill bourbon casks
Peated to higher than their usual 36ppm – exact level not given
56.7% ABV
Jura distillery tour and tasting
A tour of the Isle of Jura’s only distillery in Craighouse, and a tasting of some of their more difficult to find whiskies.
- Jura Perspective No.1 16 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Aged in bourbon and sherry casks
46.5% ABV - Jura 15 Year Old Asia Exclusive Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in bourbon casks and finished in sherry casks
42.8% ABV - Jura 7yo Distillery Exclusive Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Matured in a single bourbon cask
240 bottles
60% ABV - Jura 19yo Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Peated to 40-50ppm
Matured in a bourbon cask
53.7% ABV
The Rest of Islay
Saturday afternoon. Between Jura and Oban.
A tasting to fill in the gaps of the distilleries we didn’t visit on Islay and taste what their distillery bottlings are like.
- Bowmore 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Peated to 25ppm
40% ABV - Caol Ila 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Peated to 35ppm
43% ABV - Ardbeg 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Peated to 55ppm
46% ABV - Laphroaig 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Peated to 45ppm (a mixture of malt from Port Ellen and the distillery’s own floor-malted barley using peat from its own peat banks)
40% ABV
Distilleries and Whisky Companies
Ardbeg
Ardnahoe
Bowmore
Bruichladdich
Bunnahabhain
Caol Ila
https://www.malts.com/en-gb/caol-ila
Isle of Jura
Kilchoman
Laphroaig
Lagavulin
https://www.malts.com/en-gb/distilleries/lagavulin
Elixir Distillers (Georgie Crawford)
https://islay.com
https://portaskaig.com
The Tobermory Whisky Den (Michelle Devlin)
https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Tobermory-Whisky-Den-100070739983307
The Whisky Exchange
Billy Abbott
Website: https://billyabbott.co.uk
Email: billy@billyabbott.co.uk
Instagram: https://instagram.com/meatrobot
Facebook: https://facebook.com/BillyAbbottDrinks
Book website: https://philosophyofwhisky.com