Islay Whisky Distilleries

Islay is about six hundred square kilometres and holds nine long-established distilleries with several more recently opened, an unusual concentration explained by peat, water and a coastline that suited shipping and, historically, smuggling. The characteristic flavour comes from drying malted barley over peat fires, which lays down phenolic compounds measured in parts per million; the southern distilleries, Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig, sit in a row along the same stretch of shore and are the most heavily peated, while Bunnahabhain and Bruichladdich make largely unpeated spirit. Warehouses stand at the water's edge and the salt influence on maturing casks is much discussed and hard to prove. The Feis Ile festival each May runs distillery open days across the week and books out the island entirely.

What you actually see

• The southern trio - Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig along one shore.
• The peat kilns - malt dried over peat fires, the source of the smoke flavour.
• The shoreline warehouses - casks maturing at the water's edge.
• Feis Ile - a May festival of distillery open days filling the island.

When to go

April to October for tours at full frequency; late May for Feis Ile, when accommodation and ferries book up a year ahead. Winter tours run at some distilleries with fewer options.

Honest expectations

Tours must be booked well ahead and the popular distilleries sell out. Driving between them and tasting do not combine; a driver or taxi is needed and taxis on Islay are scarce. Ferries cancel in weather and the island can be cut off. Heavily peated whisky is genuinely divisive.

Nearby

Jura is a short ferry across the sound; Kintyre lies east across the water.