Christmas 2007
The Seventeenth Edition of "A Whiff of Peat Smoke...." , Why ? because i can !
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all at The Spirit of Islay !
At last it's got Cold ......
The 2007 Spirit of Islay Awards
This year seeing everyone else seems to be giving out accolades we decided to jump on the band wagon as well eh join in with the fun....... The committee sat at a table in The Port Charlotte hotel the other week-end (we both thoroughly enjoyed our selves BTW) . The unique things about our awards are that (a) they are purely Islay and must have happened during this year (b) There are no physical awards to give (though we could stretch to a cheap self printed certificate if the winners want something...) (c) they are not sponsored by anyone (see b) and (c) it was fun deciding who to give them to especially as it involved sitting in the PCH with a thinking drink in your hand !
So to the catagories and winners......
Best Distillery Bottling of the Year - The Ardbeg Mor ! As an Ardbeg should be , 10yo , Cask Strength and in 4 and a half litre Bottle ! Cracking dram , very close to the Almost there IMO . A close second was the Almost There release and not far behind it was the Bunnahabhain Festival bottling .
Best Independent Bottling - Sukhinders Superb 27yo 1979 Bunnahabhain (46%) ! Even though it has had a bit of a hammering elsewhere i think this is a superb example of Bunnahabhain , the Bunnie sweetness shines through . Raymondos first PE was also in the running as well as several SMWS Caol Ila's .
Tour of the Year - The Bruichladdich tour with Mary during the summer . Superb , probably one of the best tours we've done on Islay even though there was a fair bit of flak flying my way ....... Everyone should do a tour with Miss Macgregor !
Event of the Year (outside a normal tour) - Johns Warehouse and Maturation Tour during the Feis Ile ! Great Whisky and the Knowledge , Humour and wit of John , What more can you ask for ? A close second was Mickeys first year of Feis Ile tours and of course Jim's Masterclass .
Best Meal on Islay - This was a close runner thing with the winner only emerging an hour or so before . For a couple of years Mel has been going on about this particular meal and i'd always had something else but the night of the committee meeting i'd finally had it ...... Take a bow the Thai Red Curry in the Port Charlotte Hotel . Amazing ! Spicy , really filling and it goes extremely well with peaty whisky !
Best Summer View on Islay - The Sunset over Mull and Colonsay from Bunnahabhain Bay , stunning , especially with a nice old Bunnahbain in you glass.....
Best Winter View on Islay - The stags on the Mulindy Road , absolutely Majestic .
And so to the last award of the night......
Distillery Personality of the Year - With so many personalities in the Islay Distilleries this was a hard call but in the end it went to someone already mentioned in these awards ..... take a bow Mary at Laddie ! You always get a warm welcome from Mary when you step through the door at the Laddieshop , a thoroughly nice woman with bags of energy and a heart of gold .
So that's it , the best on Islay have been honoured and they deserve it , have a safe journey home and May the Whisky Gods be with you.....
A Prize and a Half......
This week a rather interesting Competition appeared on the internet all to do with Islay . You have to guess where a cask will end up after it's parachuted out of an Aircraft . The catch ? None unless you count the £25 entry fee but with the prizes on offer it will be worth a go .
Have a look at the site at......
Lots of Begs !
There seems to have been a sudden rash of 2000/2001 distilled , independently bottled Ardbegs !
At Whisky-online there's a 6yo 2001 "Ourbeg" .
Meanwhile over on Whisky-Doris in Germany a trio of bottlings from the 2000 distillation have appeared . An Alambics Special Islay 7 yo , finished for 6 months in a rum cask , An Exclusive Malts 7 yo and finally a Maximum Peat 7 yo . Just where have all these casks come from ?
Provisional Feis Ile 2008 Programme
Here is a list of events for the Feis Ile 2008. Events are subject to change and should only be used as a guide.
24 May - Lagavulin Distillery Open Day ( to be confirmed )
25 May - Bruichladdich Distillery open day (to be confirmed)
26 May - Caol Ila Open Day / Port Ellen Maltings guided tours (to be confirmed) / Whisky Tasting Ceilidh held at The Ramsay Hall. Port Ellen evening
27 May - Laphroaig Distillery open day (to be confirmed) / Ceilidh A dance at Laphroaig Distillery evening
28 May - Bowmore Distillery open day (to be confirmed)
29 May - Kilchoman Distillery open day / Jura Distillery open day (to be confirmed)
30 May - Bunnahabhain Distillery open day
31 May - Ardbeg Distillery open day (to be confirmed)
Full Provisional Programme at the Feis Ile site
