Scottish Routes Islay Whisky Tour

We were able to have breakfast in our hotel again before setting off to our tour. J. R. had arranged a cab as the weather was threatening and it arrived on time and took us to Caffe Nero, which was crowded. J. R. had a latte and got Janie a Diet Coke and we found a table to sit at for a bit before heading outside. Our bus arrived thirty minutes late but soon Stefan had us on board.

Bus Ride to the Ferry at Kennacraig

The bus ride from downtown Edinburgh to Kennacraig, where we would catch the ferry was over four hours long, giving us time to catch up on our sleep. Stefan entertained us with stories about the places we were passing, including Loch Lomond, where we stopped in Luss for a bathroom break and to grab some snacks and drinks. We were running late due to the late start and traffic in Glasgow and we could tell Stefan was pushing it to make the ferry and we arrived just fifteen minutes before the scheduled departure.

Cal-Mac Ferry

The ferry boarded a little late and was already moving as we settled ourselves in the cafeteria. J. R. bought a couple of sandwiches, which were surprisingly good and some sodas and we headed to one of the lounges to look out the window and read as we took the two hour ferry ride to Islay.

Bunnahabhain

After returning to our bus and driving off the ferry, Stefan drove us to Bunnahabhain Distillery for our first whisky tasting on Islay. Bunnahabhain (Buh-nuh-ha-bayn), Gaelic for "mouth of the river" was founded in 1881 and ran continuously until 1981 when it closed for three years. It is currently owned by a subsidiary of Heineken N.V. We entered their tasting room where they had a box of "driver's drams" set out for us to sample.

• Stiuireadair (Stew-radhdur), meaning helmsman in Gaelic pays tribute to the helmsman logo of Bunnahabhain. It is made of spirits of varying ages matured in first and second-fill sherry casks in varying warehouse locations.
• Bunnahabhain 12 is an original member of the core range, first launched in 1979. It is double-matured in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks and aged for 12 years.
• Toiteach A Dha (Toch-ach ah-ghaa), Gaelic for Smoky Two, is an unaged peated whisky aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks and matured in coastal warehouses on Bunnahabhain Bay.

We did not finish all our drams so we took the boxes home for later and lingered for awhile on the porch overlooking the isle of Jura before boarding the bus for our next stop.

Islay Whisky Vault

Our next stop was not a distillery, but instead a small shop with an impressive collection of Islay whiskys.

• Bruichladdich (Bruk-la-dee) Organic Barley 2012 uses organically grown barley from Inverness and is aged 10 years in first-fill bourbon barrels and is unpeated.
• Caol Ila (Cull-eela) 12 Year Peated is a smoky whisky peated to 35 ppm (parts per million) and aged in ex-boubon casks
• Kilchoman (Kil-ho-man) Sanaig (San-ig) is named after an inlet on the Islay Atlantic coast and vatted in Oloroso sherry and bourbon casks
• Islay Whisky Vault Independent is a special blend of Caol Ila spirit with sherry aged in a hogshead for seven years and then transferred to a quarter-cask for further aging.

We purchased a bottle of the Independent to take back home since it is only sold at the Whisky Vault.

Bowmore House

Stefan drove us to the Bowmore House Bed and Breakfast where Andrew and Alison, the owners, greeted us with a whisky tasting and Stefan provided us with the itinerary for the next three days. We checked into our room and dropped off our luggage before walking to the Bowmore Hotel for dinner.

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