A guide to Islay | Scotch whisky regions
Islay is perhaps the most famous whisky-making region in the world. But how did this humble Hebridean island rise to the top of the pops? This guide will answer all your burning Islay questions.
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Ah, Islay (pronounced 'eye-luh'). The island that creates arguably Scotland’s most distinctive whisky, The Jewel of the Hebrides. Buckle up, make sure your seat is in the upright position, and prepare for a bumpy landing…
Islay sits just off the west coast of Scotland at roughly the same latitude as Glasgow. It’s the most southerly of the Inner Hebrides system of islands and is only 25 miles from end-to-end but it’s a whisky powerhouse home to nine working distilleries with more in the pipeline.
Illicit Islay
It’s impossible to pinpoint when whisky production began on the island but illicit distilling had likely been going on for centuries. A report from the Reverend John McLeish of Kilchoman Parish in 1777 reads, “We have not an excise officer on the whole island. The quantity, therefore, of Islay whisky made here is very great and the evil that follows drinking to excess of this liquor, is very visible on the island”. Early examples of stills have been found at a number of locations, including Bridend, Cragabus, Dai, Goil, Lossit, Lower Killeyan, Mulindry, Octomore, Stremnishmore, and Tallant.
We also have records of Islay’s largest landowner, Walter Campbell of Shawfield, who encouraged distilling would boost demand for locally-grown barley. But when crop failure promoted a national prohibition on distilling in 1795, he confiscated at least 90 stills from his tenants, as Iain Russell explains in his article, Islay’s turbulent whisky history for Scotchwhisky.com. A senior excise official reports in 1799 that the Ileach’s (Islay natives) response was to get over from Ireland “tinkers, who fitted up for them cauldrons and boilers as stills”.
After the prohibition ended, no Islay distiller applied to the Scottish Excise Board for a license or paid duty. Whisky was smuggled by small boats ostensively bringing potatoes at such a scale that the excise officers were unable to stem the tide, particularly with threats accompanying any of their efforts. There are records of hundreds of charges being brought annually for making or selling whisky without a license, and even evidence that the McEachern family were charged for stealing 125 gallons of whisky from an exciseman’s cellar. The Scottish Excise Board received a complaint in 1824 that ‘some of the delinquents have been fined upwards of 30 times, which has no other effect than encourage them’.
The green shoots of greatness
The first licenced distillery on the island was Bowmore in 1779 which was founded by John Simson. It was followed by Ardbeg, which began distilling commercially in 1815, as did Laphroaig. While it was rumored to be distilling since 1742, Lagavulin obtained a legal license in 1816, supposedly after Laphroaig dismissed JL Mackie & Co. as their agent in 1908, when Mackie failed to block its water source. He responded by making “his own Laphroaig” at Lagavulin.
As the industry moved towards legitimacy and legalization Islay followed. Although even by the late 19th-century Victorian whisky authority Alfred Barnard wrote that ‘smuggling was the chief employment of the crofters and fishermen, more especially during the winter… and large families were supported by it’. Still, the earlier part of that century saw a wave of distilleries being snapped up by mainland brokers and blenders, like Port Ellen in the 1820s, Lagavulin in 1836, and Bowmore in 1837. Ardbeg, effectively in liquidation, was by saved Glasgow spirit merchant Thomas Buchanan in 1838 he bought the distillery for £1,800.
In the 19th century, Bowmore was sold and marketed as a single malt outside Scotland but by the mid-century, most distilleries were providing whisky for west of Scotland blenders like John Walker of Kilmarnock. As the blended market soared into the 1870s and 1880s, Islay’s peaty, powerful whisky was sought by blenders on a big scale. Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain were both founded in 1881. In The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom (1887), Barnard records that Ardbeg was producing 250,000 gallons (1.1 million litres) of whisky a year.
The lovely Islay
Why, why, why… Islay?
You might be wondering why all the fuss about this particular island. Scotland has plenty of pretty small islands on its west coast, like Mull and Skye, which boast great distilleries. But Islay was the standout. In The Whiskies of Scotland (1967) by R.J.S McDowall, he says “No island in the world owes more to whisky than Islay and there are few blends which do not owe something to Islay whisky”, while Michael Jackson in his Malt Whisky Companion (1989) writes that Islay, “is the greatest of the whisky islands”.
The key is in the island’s geography. Natural harbours like that at Port Ellen made it well-connected by boat with the rapidly expanding towns of the West of Scotland notably Glasgow. But what made Islay particularly famous was peat. The island is full of this natural source of fuel so it would have been used to dry the barley during the malting process imparting a smoky smell. Furthermore, Islay peat was different, made up of seaweed, giving the whisky a distinctive medicinal character that was much prized.
In the early days of whisky most Scottish and indeed Irish distilleries would have used peat, but as transport improved most switched to anthracite – smokeless coal. But with a couple of exceptions, they didn’t on Islay, partly because of the abundance of local peat, but also because the island’s heavy, smoky whisky was much in demand by blenders. Jackson summarises “The peaty soil and Islay’s position of the west coast of Scotland make it the producer of the boldest malts. The sea permeates the soil and warehouses, imparting a singular tang to its malts”. There’s now some scepticism over the extent to the sea air plays a role, but there is a defined West Coast style, and indeed a West Coast style blend, like Johnnie Walker Red and Black label with their characteristic smoky cut, so different to the sweeter Perth blends like Bell’s or Famous Grouse.
Hard times
No matter how good the whisky you make is, this industry inevitably booms after it busts and that old fateful trio of two world wars, Prohibition in the US, and the Great Depression did its dirty work on Islay and beyond. Long period of closures followed for distilleries, with Port Ellen mothballed from 1929 to 1967. Lochindaal at Port Charlotte closed permanently in 1929, although the buildings have remained intact and Bruichladdich has revived the brand and matures whisky there now.
One bright spot in this time in the trailblazing tale of Bessie Williamson, the only woman to own and manage a distillery in Scotland in the 20th century. Laphroaig owner since 1927 Ian Hunter hired her, and after suffering a stroke in 1938 assigned her a greater share in the management of the business. She steered the distillery through the Second World War, where it was used as a barracks and ammunition store, and fully oversaw operations at Laphroaig from 1954 until her retirement in 1972. Williamson was noted for maintaining the distillery’s traditions and keeping the quality of its heavily peated single malt whisky, all while navigating the challenges of the industry during her time and expanding Laphroaig's reach internationally.
After the war, the industry began to recover, but it faced the challenges of rebuilding stocks and infrastructure. The late 1940s saw a gradual resumption of production and the 1950s marked a period of economic recovery and growth for the Scotch whisky industry as a whole. As the global economy improved, so did the demand for whisky. Islay distilleries began to recover and a boom in sales of blended Scotch in the 1960s and early ‘70s brought with it new demand, developments, and investments. Of course, this set Islay on a collision course with the ‘whisky loch’ of the 1980s and Islay fell on hard times as oversupply combined with changing tastes away from smokier whiskies led to many distilleries like Port Ellen being closed permanently in 1983.
Others such as Ardbeg and Bruichladdich were just a whisker away from sharing a similar fate. Ardbeg closed entirely between 1981 and 1989, scraping through the 1990s by a string. Bunnahabhain closed for two years in 1982 and Bruichladdich managed to just about hang on until it was shut in 1995. Closures affect any local economy, but on an island like Islay, this was devastating as job losses were widespread and the island’s population fell under 4,000.
The Lagavulin Distillery on Islay
The comeback
However, in the background of all this was the rise of single malts, which slowly but steadily gained traction. In the late 1980s and ‘90s, drinkers discovered and fell in love with Islay in the form of single malts. People began to appreciate the distinctive flavours and Islay slowly became a mecca for whisky lovers saving distilleries that would have been closed down.
The likes of Michael Jackson were effusive in their praise for Islay malts, as brands like Lagavulin developed a cult fan base. It was part of the category-defining The Classic Malts of Scotland selection by United Distillers & Vintners in 1988, bringing the distillery a new era of consumers who lapped it up. Meanwhile, the whisky from the now-shut Port Ellen, once just used in blends, became highly prized with values soaring as its rarity and reputation grew.
The very first Islay festival, Fèis Ìle, was held in 1986. Originally a community-based celebration of the island, it has evolved into the whisky festival, fuelled by what Dr Nick Morgan says is “the irresistible rise in the popularity of Islay whisky around the world, and its magnetic ability to draw high-spending visitors to the island” in his controversial How Fèis Ìle was stolen by the Scotch whisky industry. A feature now is special distillery bottlings, apparently started by Ardbeg in 2002 and quickly followed by the rest. Morgan reports that a single cask Port Ellen bottling was launched in 2008 for £99.99. If you can find a bottle now it will be north of £4,000.
The festival is now so big that it’s one of the defining aspects of the island, bringing thousands of people each year. Jackie Thompson, visitor manager at Ardbeg, says in the History of Fèis Ìle documentary, “The Festival is a beacon of light within the whisky industry. People know they‘re going to have a great time. We know that it used to be that a distillery was a magnet for somebody to visit. I think Islay now is the magnet.”
Islay today
You can see from the demand of the festival (and the special distillery bottlings that accompany it) that Islay is in much ruder health today than it has been for some time. From the late nineties into the early noughties the reopening and revival of several Islay distilleries occurred. Ardbeg Distillery was purchased by Glenmorangie Plc. and reopened in 1997. In 2000, Bruichladdich Distillery was purchased by a group of investors led by Mark Reynier, Simon Coughlin, and Jim McEwan. In 2005 came a real watershed moment as the Wills family founded Kilchoman, the first new distillery on the island for 124 years.
Of course, on an island this small, worldwide demand for whisky and tourism is a double edged sword: a huge boost to the economy, a big challenge for the community. Getting to Isay is infamously tough. There are two options and they’re both limited in availability and often delayed or cancelled due to the challenge of the local climate. One is the charming but obviously plodding ferry. The other is to fly. Assuming your plane can take off and/or land. When the primary flight into the island was handled by airline Flybe locals dubbed it “Fly Maybe”.
But that hasn’t stopped the investment and interest in Islay. A ninth distillery, Ardnahoe, was built by Hunter Laing and began distilling in 2019 and now there are a further four in the pipeline. Distillery no.10 would appear to be Elixir Distillers, which owns the Port Askaig and Elements of Islay brands, Portintruan Distillery. Also on the way is the first distillery on Islay for Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky arm of Pernod Ricard, which is opening a site at Gartbreck Farm, while independent bottlers The Islay Boys have been granted planning permission to build the island’s 12th distillery in Laggan Bay. The great Port Ellen has been revived too, and in 2024 will once again be producing whisky for the first time since 1983.
Islay is a unique island that is teaming with world-class distilleries made by world-class people on a beautiful landscape, and its charm goes beyond the spirit it makes. Be sure to visit outside of festival season and lap up its culture. With a good dram in hand, of course.
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