Sometimes a picture says more than a thousand words. I think this is the case with the Islay picture you see here. So tonight not many written paragraphs but a picture and a beautiful view. You can find this park bench in Bruichladdich and when you sit there you might even spot an otter or other wildlife. And when you need a refreshment look over your right shoulder and you'll see Debbies Minimarket where you can get a perfect cup of coffee and another nice opportunity to sit and watch the world go by. Yes folks, life can be good on Islay!

A park bench at Bruichladdich on the shore of Loch Indaal

The view looking left from the park bench at Bruichladdich

Tag: bruichladdich photography

Laphroaig Distillery sent out the following mailing about this years Laphroaig Live event which will be held later this month. If you are a friend of Laphroaig you've probably received it already, and if not here is the full announcement.

John Campbell So the secret is out! We are broadcasting our fourth web show live from inside the Harvey’s Bodegas in Jerez, Andalusia, Spain on Thursday 23rd September 2010 at 20:00 Eastern Central Time(ECT). Please bookmark it in your diaries as it really will be our best show yet. As you all know last year’s show was broadcast live from the Makers Mark distillery in Kentucky. This was because our two best selling expressions, 10 year old and Quarter Cask are matured exclusively in Bourbon casks. However this is only part of the Laphroaig story. We have been using the finest Sherry casks from Spain since our inception nearly 200 years ago and still use them to this day as they impart a completely different flavour to our spirit.

During the show we will be comparing classic bourbon matured Laphroaig –in this case Quarter Cask, with three other Laphroaig expressions. Our new Triple Wood which enjoys its third maturation in Spanish Oak, our cask strength 25 year old which uses both Fino and Oloroso sherry Butts in its maturation and a very special third, exclusively Oloroso matured expression – but you will have to watch the programme to find out more about this one! Continue reading....

Making a decision about what to write on the blog tonight was not easy. On the one hand Bowmore Distillery announced the "Inner Core" their version of an online community of Bowmore Friends, a similar setup as the "Friends of Laphroaig" and the "Ardbeg Committee". If you're interested have a look at www.bowmore.co.uk/inner-core and make sure to sign-up, I think it's a promising start. On the other hand there is this very interesting portrait about a well known Ileach called "Lily Fish" from Caol Ila. On the website www.scottishreview.net you'll find a lovely portrait about Lily MacDougall, Christine Logan's mother. Lily is now 95 and still paints her own house, she plays the pipes, paints paintings and drives around in her own car. She really is an amazing woman and we had the pleasure to meet her several times already. Make sure to read the article here.

Now that I have already mentioned two possible articles and judging from the picture on the right and the title of this post you have probably guessed that this is leading to something entirely different and you're right. I decided to write about a third option which is the changing town centre of Bowmore. You might remember from the latest news roundup that brian palmer wrote about the newly installed cycle racks and raised a question or two about the necessity of these racks in that particular place. Cycle racks however are not the only new feature installed on Bowmore's historic main street, much to the concern of some of the locals including George Rhind, a member of the Islay Council. George wrote a letter to the Ileach, and a similar one to Historic Scotland, which I would like to share with you tonight. Continue reading....

The annual StormCats Islay Tope Fishing Competition took place on Lochindaal on the weekend of the 21st and 22nd August. Conditions on both days were variable ,with heavy swells to start each day which improved as the day went on; overhead conditions included most Scottish West coast weather including rain, mist, wind and sunshine.

Seventy anglers took part on 22 boats over the two days, a mixture of adult male, juniors and females. The £20 entrance fee is donated to charity, along with a large contribution from St James’ Place Wealth Management of £1000; the total raised was £2200 which is split between the RNLI and local charity Islay & Jura Sick Kids’ Fund. The majority of anglers are local to the island but there are regular competitors who travel form different parts of the UK to fish. Anyone interested in fishing this competition next year will be made very welcome. Continue reading....

Today the news roundup for the second half of August with information and news snippets from Islay. For an overview of the news which I've already posted on the blog you can visit the blog's August overview. Today a somewhat shorter version because I have just returned from holiday where I celebrated my birthday, hence the lovely surprise of my wife and daughter in this weeks Ileach.

Cycle parking in Bowmore by brian palmer Each successive year on Islay sees an increasing number of cyclists making the trip across the water for what is likely some of the finest cycling in the islands, given that the bumpy bits are mostly round the edges. And not unnaturally, with the island’s Tourist Information Centre and a number of eateries located in Bowmore, a good many of these bicycles end up leaning against a village wall or two. Surprisingly, because nobody remembers them being mentioned in the same breath as the ‘improvements’ currently underway in Morrison Court, two cycle ‘racks’ have appeared adjacent to the plethora of bollards now guarding the pavement outside Bowmore Hall. Why on earth they have been sited there is beyond us. In all the years the Ileach has been at the corner of Main Street and Jamieson Street, we have never seen any cyclists find the need to park at that particular point. Rumour has it that another six of these are to be sited around Main Street. As a cyclist, I do not wish to look a gift horse in the mouth, but might it not have been a good idea to consult with those who frequently use this form of pedal-powered transport as to what type of cycle rack would be useful, and where would be the best place to put them? As it is, the best that can be achieved is to lean a bicycle against one of these items. Sort of what we’ve used walls for all these years. Continue reading...

It's that time of year again, the time that summer is almost saying goodbye and autumn shows its first brilliant colours. The first signs that the seasons are changing are visible in August when the heather colours the hills purple. In that same month the berries of the rowan trees are ripening and become beautifully red, providing a source of food for birds that will feed on the berries before they migrate. Christine Logan, Islay's Lady of the Isles, sent me a couple of images taken yesterday and show you what August has to offer on Islay and Jura.

Rowan Tree near Caol Ila Distillery

Purple Heather on the Jura Hills

Tag: jura summer autumn seasons

Tonight I will take you on a trip to a very remote and stunningly beautiful corner of our planet, between Tibet and Pakistan, not far south from the ancient Silk Road and the Taklamakan Desert, an area that I'm particularly fascinated by. The reason for this detour from Islay is the fact that Carl Reavey forwarded a story from Rachell McNeill from Islay. Rachel wrote a fascinating account of her trip to Ladakh, India. Although it's not about Islay I think this is, like Carl mentioned, a story that deserves to be told. I'm very grateful to be able to publish it on the blog for you tonight.

Rachell McNeill: Ladakh is a semi autonomous area in the region of Jammu and Kashmir in Northern India. I travelled there to stay with a local family in their home and participate in their way of life. I crossed the Taglang La, which at 5,359m (17,684ft) is the second highest pass in the world. I arrived in Tackmachik and met my lovely family on the 3 August. There are four generations living in the one house. The oldest is Phutsok Dorge at 90 years, and the youngest - and wildest, is Jigmet Dorge at 2 and a half years.

I believe that life in Ladakh is similar to the way life was in Islay and Colonsay at the time when my Dad was a wee boy. The people grow their own food. There is not a predominant money economy. In the villages there are no shops - if you don't work and create the food yourself, you will go hungry. For me the difference between Islay and Ladakh is not specifically one of geography, but one of time. Continue reading....

I like Bruichladdich Distillery, not only for their excellent drams, but also for the way they get their message across the globe. They are masters in PR. At the annual Edinburgh festival Royal Miles Whiskies held a whisky tasting, already for several years now. Bruichladdich has won several times but not this year. Are they worried? no they aren't! They turned their 6th place into a victory by claiming they have beaten some 40 year old whiskies with their 3yr old X4+3 expression, which is quite an achievement for such a young whisky, it can hardly stand on its own feet. To celebrate this and to promote the limited bottling of this very special and very young whisky, there are only 15.00 numbered bottles bottled at 63.5% ABV, Mark Reynier sent out the following press release:

A controversial 3 year old single malt whisky inspired by a 1695 account of 'perilous whisky', deemed irresponsible by the Scotch Whisky Association and feted in song by bards has been rated better than some 40 year old single malts. Specialist whisky retailer Royal Mile Whiskies organised a tasting of 126 whiskies during the Edinburgh Festival where customers voted on their preference. It was in 1695 when Martin Martin, explorer of the west of Scotland, wrote in his diary: "Their plenty of corn was such, as disposed the natives to brew several sorts of liquors, as common usquebaugh, another called trestarig, three times distilled, which is strong and hot; a third sort is four times distilled, and this by the natives is called usquebaugh-baul, which at first taste affects all the members of the body: two spoonfuls of this last liquor is a sufficient dose; and if any man exceed this, it would presently stop his breath, and endanger his life." I haven't found a health warning on the bottle so I assume it's safe to drink, I guess taste has changed dramatically over the years. Continue reading...