Slainte! How the water of life will fund projects on island of Islay

● Lagavulin marks 200th anniversary with pledge to give something back

Residents of Islay have played a major part in the success of the distilleries located on the island over the past few centuries, and now one of those success stories is looking to give something back to the local community.

Lagavulin distillery marked its 200th anniversary in 2016, and as part of the celebrations has released an exclusive new bottling – the Lagavulin 1991 Single Malt Scotch Whisky – which was carefully selected by the distillery team and Ivan Menezes, chief executive of owner Diageo, for a limited run of just 522 bottles.

All of the proceeds of the sales of this run will then be donated to community projects on the island, which should see £580,000 divided out across seven charities.

Nick Morgan, head of whisky outreach at Diageo, explained that the project is their way of saying thanks to a special place that has helped to support the distillery over the past two centuries, he said: “This is just one way in which we want to express our affection for the people who have welcomed us (Ileachs and others) to work and live on Islay for the last 200 years.”

The money will be distributed to a number of local initiatives, including a major donation of £310,000 for Islay Heritage, which they say will go towards helping to create an Islay Heritage trail to ensure more visitors understand the island’s rich history, with a portion also being used for conservation work focusing on Kildalton chapel.

Steven Mithen, trustee of Islay Heritage and professor of archaeology, said: “Islay Heritage is hugely grateful to the Lagavulin 200 Legacy for the support it is providing to further our knowledge about the archaeological sites and monuments on Islay.

“This investment in our heritage will greatly benefit both the local community and visitors to the island. While some of Islay’s sites and monuments are very well known and accessible, others are virtually unknown, difficult to find and rarely visited.

“There are no doubt many more waiting to be discovered which will help tell us more about not only Islay’s story but that of Scotland, Europe and the path of human culture as a whole.

0 Lagavulin celebrated 200 years of the distillery on the island of Islay last year