Breakfast at the Bowmore

Andrew cooked us a wonderful Scottish breakfast with a variety of sausage, bacon, fried and scrambled eggs, haggis, potatoes, and salmon and topped it all off with a 'breakfast dram' of Bowmore whisky to start us on our day.

Kildalton High Cross

With time to spare before our first distillery of the day, Stefan took us to see the Kildalton High Cross, built in the 8th century AD and is considered the finest surviving Celtic cross in Scotland. It features an image of the Virgin and Child and displays similarities with folio 7v in the Book of Kells. It resides amidst the remains of the former parish church of Kildalton the "Church of the Foster Son (John the Evangelist).

Lagavulin

We arrived next at the distillery J. R. most wanted to see on this trip, Lagavulin, his favorite Scottish whisky. We were treated to the Lagavulin Warehouse Experience where we sampled whisky straight from the casks. We were a little disappointed none of these were available for sale as several were very good and we would have liked to take a wee bit home with us.

• Lagavulin 10 Year is the most popular single malt, peated to 54 PPM and double distilled and aged for 10 years in ex-bourbon casks.
• 11 Year Refill Hogshead is 52.1 PPM from 2012
• 12 Year Rejuvenated Red Wine is 54.4 PPM from 2012
• 14 Year Sherry Butt is 56.3 PPM from 2010
• 16 Year Refill Butt is 54.3% PPM from 2007

We purchased a bottle of the Offerman edition aged in Caribbean Rum casks for the trip home.

Ardbeg

Already several drams in, we stopped at Ardbeg for lunch. Their kitchen was closed but they had a food truck (the "Ardstream") outside where we purchased some sandwiches and sodas to put something in our stomachs before we explored the gift shop and did our next tasting

• Wee Beastie is aged for only five years in ex-bourbon and Ororoso sherry casks and is 47 ABV.
• Ardbeg Ten is the classic Ardbeg, heavily peated and smoky, twice-filled in ex-bourbon casks to 46% ABV. Our host called it a "breakfast whisky".
• An Oa, named for the rounded penisula that shelters the distillery from the Atlantic, is 46.6 ABV and aged in sweet Pedro Ximenez, spicy Virgin charred oak, and intense ex-bourbon casks with 46.6 ABV
• Ardbeg Uigedail (Oog-a-dal) is Gaelic for "dark, mysterious place". The whisky is named for the distillery's water source and is matured in ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It is unaged with a heavy sherry influence and 54.2 ABV.
• Ardbeg Corryvreckan takes its name from the whirlpool north of Islay and is heavily peated and aged in ex-bourbon and new French oak wine casks and has 57.1 ABV.

Laphraoig

Our final stop for the day was Laphraoig (Luh-froyg) where we had some time to enjoy the scenery as the weather had improved before our tasting.

• Laphroaig 10 is their original whisky made of malted barley cold-smoked over a peat fire and matured in bourbon casks.
• Cairdeas is a limited edition whiskey. Three quarters of the whisky is matured in second-fill Madeira casks and the final quarter is finished in first-fill Madiera Port casks.
• 6 Year Special is aged in refill Pinot sherry hogshead casks

We purchased a tasting package at the end and took it home in driver's drams. We will sample the Select, Ten, Quarter Cask and Lore when we get home.

Indian Food in Scotland

Stefan took us back to the Bowmore House and we set off in search of dinner. We had filled out the online reservation form to eat at "Peatzeria" but they never called us back and did not answer their phone. We walked there to see if they had any availability and were rudely turned away. So we walked across the street to Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant and had a great meal of butter chicken and curry and naan. It was a great find and a good way to finish off our day. J. R. was not feeling up to another drink so we headed back to the hotel to relax.

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