The whisky island of Islay is running on empty. The stills are being turned off as distilleries end whisky production for the foreseeable future. The oil has finally run out.

And it’s nothing to do with the Middle East. To run their stills, the island’s eight distillers are dependant on nine oil deliveries a year, brought to the island by sea.

An oil delivery scheduled for 17th November was turned back forcing distilleries to shut off their stills and close down production as supplies dwindled and finally ran out today. (more…)

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Well, I’d just like to send a huge thank you to everyone that could make it along…

The tasting was a giant success, with many, many whiskys being consumed - 9 types in total I think…

We’ll have a report and more photos available in the next few days…

I’d also personally like to thank Tim, Bill, David & Keira for their organisational skills and help with the venue, food, drinks & the evening in general…

Also thanks to Bill Lark, Patrick Maguire, Mark Littler & Tim Duckett for providing the excellent bottles of whisky for us to sample!

The snacks were yummy, the supper was awesome, the company was friendly and the whiskys were excellent!

All in all, I think the night went brilliantly and I hope everyone had a great time, and some great whiskys!

I look forward to seeing you at the next tasting, and on the forums some time!

Cheers,
Richard Stewart

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ACTOR RAISES A DRAM AS DISTILLERY CENTRE OPENS

A new visitor centre opened at an Islay distillery at the weekend as part of a £20million, five-year global investment programme for the single malt whisky brand.

Scottish actor James Cosmo, who starred alongside Mel Gibson in Braveheart, declared the new centre at Bowmore Distillery open as guests enjoyed a few drams and a firework display. Bowmore is also about to launch a new bottle and packaging for its whisky. The new visitor centre, which now forms part of the distillery tour, features Bowmore archives which have never previously been on display to the public.

Operations manager Iseabail Mactaggart said: “It showcases the distillery’s rich history so well and makes the most of our stunning setting by Loch Indaal. “This gives us the opportunity to share with our visitors the traditions that we are all so proud of here at Bowmore.”

The distillery was established in 1779 and is the oldest on Islay. It is owned by Morrison Bowmore Distillers, which is a subsidiary of Japan’s Suntory. Around 10,000 people come to visit the distillery each year.

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‘Oldest’ bottle of whisky for sale

A bottle of scotch whisky believed to be the oldest in existence is to be auctioned later this month. The Glenavon Special Liqueur Whisky, believed to be almost 150 years old, is expected to fetch between £5,000 and £10,000 when it goes under the hammer at Bonhams on November 29.

The two-part moulded olive-green glass bottle, which is unusually small in size, contains about 14 fluid ounces of pale gold liquid and is believed to have been bottled by the Glenavon Distillery between 1851 and 1858.

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Raise your glasses to a single malt … vodka!

Two lifelong school friends from Glasgow are hoping to take the global drinks market by storm after creating the world’s first single malt Scottish vodka.

Lawrence Craig, 54, and Ricky Christie, 54, have come up with their distinctive new breed of vodka, Valt, which is produced and distilled in Scotland.

It is created through a batch distillation process using Scottish malt barley, normally used in whisky distillation. It will be the first of its type on the market when it goes on sale early in the New Year.

The drink will be launched throughout the world, but will initially target marketplaces in the UK, America, Russia, Asia and Europe. (more…)

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