Islay's Ardbeg Distillery recommended

The Ardbeg Distillery on Islay is recommended as one of the best distilleries in Scotland, according to the Scotsman. Ardbeg ended third after Highland Park and the Isle of Arran Distillery, which is a bit odd to me. The Isle of Arran distillery is a rather small distillery which started in 1995. During our trip on Arran last year we intended to visit the Arran distillery but we were a bit disappointed when we entered the parking lot. It doesn't have the "look and feel" of an established Islay or Scottish Distillery, in fact it looked really small, and we decided to spend our time discovering Arran, something we didn't regret afterwards. Arran itself however is a charming island and is often referred to as Scotland in miniature. Indeed you find it all on Arran, mountains, scenery, castles, wildlife, lovely villages and lots more but not the distilleries like the ones on Islay! But that's not the only reason I like Islay better. Islay actually differs a lot from Arran. Islay is more authentic, typically Hebridean, wilder, more remote, more diverse and has more to discover, but that's only my humble opinion. I took the picture on the right when we left Arran from Lochranza in the afternoon and headed for Islay the day after.

Back to the Ardbeg distillery, the reason I started this post, and time for a quote from the Scotsman:
You get the usual tour, which is excellent, but the café is one of the best places to eat on Islay with fabulous ploughman's lunches. The merchandise is tasteful and unusual (tight-fitting lycra cycle shirts emblazoned with Ardbeg) and the sea is on your doorstep. Also, Ardbeg ten-year-old is one of the best standard malts.

I couldn't agree more :-)