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Roadtrip I - Isle of Islay
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| Part of my Isle of Islay Roadtrip with two mates. This is Part One of Three | Find Part Two, Part Three here |
After our succesful trip to Edinburgh we made plans to go to The Balvenie and maybe Edradour. After a few attempts to book a {Friday Morning} tour with no success we decided to try something different. We made plans to go to the Isle of Islay. Meanwhile we had visited the Amsterdam Whisky Festival and received some good tips. Completed with information and some help from Teun van Wel we decided to go for three Distilleries; Bowmore, Kilchoman and Lagavulin.
So come June 1st we took the car to Ijmuiden and then the Ferry to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne where we already made a short start in the Navigator bar. After dinner I enjoyed the Auchentoshan Heartwood and Laphroaig QA Cask.
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The next day we made our way to the Islay Ferry. The first three hours over the motorways to Glasgow. The following three hours through the beautiful landscapes of the Loch Lomond and The National Trossachs National Park area.
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With some time to spare we reached Port Kennacraig where would make the crossing to Islay. After a short wait the ferry came to port and two and a half hours later we had sight on Port Askaig.
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After our arrival we decided to a dram of the Kilhoman Feis Ile 2014 bottling in the bar before we headed for bed. A good nights rest at the Bowmore Hotel in Bowmore followed by a full Scottish breakfast the next morning prepared us for the first of three Distilleries.
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Bowmore here we come.
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Bowmore Distillery
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From our hotel it was less then a five minute walk towards the Distillery.
The evening before we already made the traditional pictures while we took a stroll around to stretch the legs a bit.
I will include some more pictures at the end of this page.
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So after passing the gates, crossing the grounds to the visitor center we reported for the Craftman's Tour at the reception.
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We started our tour where the Whisky also starts; The Malting floor.
Being on the more expanded tour I was allowed to do some barley turning and could we stand ankle deep in the drying barley.
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After we emptied out our shoes we continued the tour past the Malt Mill.
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Next stop the Mashtun and Washbacks.
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And then to the heart of the distillery; The Stills and Spirit Safe.
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Through the doors of the No.1 Vaults you will see the one and only pump that is used to fill the Cask with new spirit. Included in the Craftman's tour we where allowed to walk through the actual warehouse and taste two casks on it's way to maturity. One was on a Bourbon cask, the other on an Olorosso Sherry Cask. Back behind the glass we could make some pictures of the show casks.
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And then your back in the Bowmore Cafe. Ready for a Dram and some souvenirs from the shop. Thanks to Lenda we had a perfect time during the tour and the tasting afterwards.
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Tasted the Bowmore; Mashmasters Choice Dark Rock Golden Reef |
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Although we where happy sitting and sipping Whisky at the Bowmore Bar, the time had come to get our stuff to the Hotel and get picked up by our Taxi. Next stop; Kilchoman.
Part of my Isle of Islay Roadtrip with two mates | This is Part One of Three | Find Part Two, Part Three here
Below some leftover pictures of the Bowmore Distillery and its surroundings;
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Part of my Isle of Islay Roadtrip with two mates | This is Part One of Three | Find Part Two, Part Three here
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