So, some stuff is closed. Ardbeg had extensive roof damage in the Storm Eowyn and is closed for 6 months. Laphroaig is not running tours until after we've left Islay. Boo.

Sitting at breakfast, working out a plan, I realised that Bruichladdich did have tour available at 10am. It was 9:15am with a 15 minute drive to get there. Quick shower and off I set. Arriving at 9:45am, to find the doors locked. I hung around outside in the very strong cold winds for a few minutes at the door, but noone was there to let me in, so I retreated to the car. A few minutes later and two large taxis full of Asian tourists arrived...to my surprise, the door opened for them (it was locked when I had arrived), so I ventured in. Not my type of tourist, I was uncertain if joining the tour was a good idea, but I fronted the counter and asked if there was any space assuming they were all there for that purpose. She said there were only 2 others booked in and so I could join. So, to my pleasure, I was joined on the tour by 2 American tourists and had a great time.

I learned all about the history of Bruichladdich, a locally determined distillery with an interesting history. 3 brothers started it in 1881 and it ran until 1930s that way as the first purpose built distillery on Islay. The other older ones here were side businesses for farms. It's most recent iteration since being closed in 1993 and then reopened by a wine merchant from London who effectively crowd funded it's purchase in 2001 from a multinational company, and got it for $6.5 million...a bargain. He has retained a commitment to employing locals and still using the original machinery. They have the last remaining belt operated grain weighing/grist grinder, a huge cast iron mashing tun (open top), douglas fir and orgegon pine fermentation (open top) vats and four very tall copper stills. Interesting was learning about peating, for which whiskies here are renowned.

Most of the peat smoked barley is done in 2 locations. One here on Islay where much of the island is covered with peat that is cut in spring, dried in summer and used over the following year and the other near Inverness. The peats are different. Islay peat gives the malt a characteristic medicinal peat flavour that is certainly polarising. The levels of peat are measured in ppm of phenols that are absorbed by the barley and are then dissolved into the wort prior to fermentation. Having tasted the end fermented stuff here, the peat is NOT detectable at that stage. During distillation, there are a range of different phenols that sort in order of mass (and therefore height up the still column) with many of the heavier phenols at the tall stills at Bruichladdich not making it to the top and hence not coming into the finished whisky. These heavier ones are more smoky and harsh, with the lighter ones being more refined, even floral in their taste. So, when trying their whiskies, the Octomore is very highly peated (100% peated malt used, giving about 107ppm phenol) does not taste overly strongly smoky. I meant to mention earlier that the peated malt used here is from the heather peat near Inverness, not the iodiny/salty/medicinal peat from Islay. All interesting how they all go about it. Overall, this tour was another excellent one and I really enjoyed learning the history of the island along the way. Apparently, there used to be a creamery on Islay that allowed the majority of farms to be dairy focused and had been for many generations. It was closed down in the early 2000s and devastated many here, as the tradition of doing the family business was large! So, when Bruichladdich said "hey, could you grow barley?" the timing meant it was optimal for a change in production. The answer is yes, it grows well here :) The water for the distillery comes from a nearby farm at Octomore (also a name of one of their brews). It is unclear where the water comes from, but as Islay lies on a fault line that runs through Scotland, the waters of Loch Ness and other lochs on the fault they think percolate down under the crust, under the ocean, and emerge on Islay many thousands of years later. It used to be the water source for the town, but it has now been replaced by water from the island...apparently nowhere near as nice!

Anyway, back to pick up Bronnie for an afternoon explore, down to the famous Islay distilleries Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg. Sadly, contrary to online, Laphroaig was not open even at the shop, so we popped in to the Ardbeg pop up at the hotel nearby. They had some lovely whiskies to try for me...super smoky and yummy, and we were very lucky to get a taste of their 25 year old offering (fancy) and a couple of their experimental special releases. I even bought a beanie.

During the afternoon we also paid a visit to the Woolen Mill where we bought two gorgeous blankets woven on-site by looms from the 1700s. Brilliant and I can't wait to use them in chilly Canberra days to come :)

We passed the smoking malting works, owned by Diageo, and also drove the straightest road in Scotland that passes by the peat bogs. Originally it was surveyed for a train line to Bowmore, but the peat varies in density so much over the year that the road even becomes super lumpy and bumpy over the year. I can attest to this having driven it!

Home for a roast beef for tea, and a comparison of the growing number of mini samples (aka 3-4mL at a time) to narrow down my favourite style. Good fun!