10 landmarks on ‘Whisky Island’

LIKE so many Scots growing up, Fiona Rintoul saw her dad and grandpa enjoy a dram on special occasions.

When she moved to London, whisky was a little reminder of home.

But it was only when she relocated to Islay in 2005 that she “came to realise those whiskies were the best”.

Although she no longer lives there, the distilleries inspired her new book, Whisky Island.

Lovingly curated, detailed and beautifully presented, it might even convert a few non-drinkers.

Fiona visited eight distilleries alongside photographer Konrad Borkowski, whose images captured the work that went into making world-renowned whiskies.

“Having lived there for a while, I was impressed by the island and the work of the distilleries and the good-humoured way they went about their business,” Fiona said.

“Practically all of the ingredients are there – the peat, the barley, the water and the fertile landscape, and they don’t cut corners.

“In my day job I’m a financial journalist, so writing the book was like a holiday. It was a pleasure to meet the people who work in the distilleries – there are some real characters.”

Part of the island’s whisky growth – two new distilleries have been granted planning permission – is down to the rise in popularity of specialist, high-end malts, which Islay is good at producing.

Fiona enjoys the peatiness of Ardbeg and Laphroaig, as well as the mellowness of the Bunnahabhain.

But the island’s first official distillery was Bowmore, founded in 1779 by local businessman John P Simpson. It’s now owned by Beam Suntory.

Guiding Fiona and Konrad around the historic distillery was Eddie MacAffer, the master distiller.

He retired last month at the launch night of the Black Bowmore 50-Year-Old, which is £16,000 a bottle.

Eddie joined Bowmore in 1966, starting in the warehouse and had undertaken most jobs in the distillery over the last 50 years.

Its No 1 Vaults is the oldest maturation warehouse in Scotland and is one of only six distilleries in the country to have a maltbarn, which stretches over three floors. Each floor holds 14 tonnes of barley.

At full production, the distillery uses 1.4m litres of water every day.

On the facing page, we look at Islay’s other distilleries, including the two in the planning stages.

Whisky Island is out now from Freight Books.