I can share some points we came up for our whisky holidays: Strip down your visits and decide what tastings you want to to for sure. Then book one tasting per day. At the other distilleries just visit the shop. In this way you only have one distillery where you have to be on time. This makes your days way more relaxed.
That's actually really solid advice Michael! Only visiting one per day would allow for a lot more relaxation and less hustling to make the next tour on time. Thanks for sharing this! Cheers eh 🥃
Thank you for drowning me in a wave of nostalgia! My first trip to Scotland in September 1997 included four nights staying in Port Ellen (having previously overnighted in Glasgow, Oban and Tarbert on Loch Fyne). Ardbeg was being refurbished by the Glenmorangie people at the time, so I couldn't tour that, but I did do Lagavulin and Laphroaig (including collecting my 'rent' as a Friend of Laphroaig). I caught the bus round to Bowmore and had a 30-year-old Ardbeg at the Lochside Inn, as Laphroaig (whose staff had been running Ardbeg before the takeover) hadn't had a bottle open to try and couldn't justify opening one for just me... The Lochside had a display dedicated to The Black Bowmore, for which they were charging £75 a single measure (25ml) at the time (bottles had launched at £100 and were already fetching £1,500 at auction by then - add a zero now!). Back then, I was a lot more mobile/energetic than I am now, so I made sure to walk to see the legendary Kildalton Cross. On the way back, I stopped off at the Ardview Inn to quench my thirst and have a sit down... and they had Black Bowmore for £9.20 a Scottish measure (35ml) - happy days!
I'm glad this video could bring back so many fond and wonderful memories for you Andrew. That's about the biggest compliment I could get on a video like this. It's stories like that of an unexpected £9.20 Black Bowmore while visiting Kildalton Cross that really hit it home. Islay is just a special place. I did find the prices for drams in the "big" towns a bit over the odds. There were diamonds in the rough to snipe still though. Sounds like Islay was the place to be in 1997 Andrew. Cheers 🥃
Hope it was helpful, and I hope you have an unbelievable trip. Dreaming about going back so I'm excited for you that you'll be heading there soon. Cheers Brett! 🥃
Great suggestion. I would have loved to go hiking on Jura, as well as explored a bit including the distillery. We ran out of time in our 4ish days but it's definitely on the must visit next time list. Cheers David 🥃
Brilliant video Matt, thanks for taking the time to explain it all. I'm saving this video for my future trip! If I write it here, I'm hoping it'll be written in the stars as well :))) Cheers my friend, what a trip you guys had!
Thanks man. Here's to the stars coming through with a trip to Islay in your future. Cheers man 🥃 Also, great idea to put that Ardbeg 8 up against the Lag 8 year. I was listening on my drive to work today, hence the lack of comment.
Great tips. I’ve been to Islay during festivals and outwith and enjoy going anytime even winter. One of my most enjoyable things during the festival was a speed boat from Ardbeg to lagavulin and laphroaig with a dram in hand of course 🥃
Thanks Sandy! The speedboat drams sound like a great memory and story! I would like to experience the Feis one day, sounds like a fantastic time. But there doesn't seem to be a bad time to visit. Cheers 🥃
Great video, Matt, as expected, and very useful tips as I never been there yet...But as I've been in other parts of Scotland, though, I can relate to many of your advises & every time I had a "loser" schedule I was happy about it because, like you said, you might have (good or bad) surprises, and I also do think, like you, that we all need pauses between distillery tours to enjoy the place/sceneries/landscapes and meeting people/locals...and like you said too, you might be back, so avoid too much FOMO mindset (easy to say, I know). Peas wise, for the record, I had a delicious pea soup at Lindores Abbey Distillery, served there with in mind the Medieval times...Also, last time I was in Scotland with a friend, we were afraid to run out of time for our long booked Aberfeldy distillery tour/special tasting, so without being convinced in advance to have a good meal there (I mean in the visitor center), to our surprise, the few they had were fantastic, even just the sandwhiches, so people, don't overlook food options at distilleries...there is a good chance you'll have a blast there. Cheers !
Thanks Greg! Hoping you get to Islay one day soon. Peas, they're everywhere! For the better of course haha. And yes, the distilleries did have surprisingly great food. Here's to all the lovely things we get to enjoy when we set aside the fomo and live in the moment. Cheers 🥃
There is just something about Islay whiskies isn't there? I adore Laphroaig and remember vividly my first time sipping it. Glad you're enjoying it too! Love it! Cheers 🥃
Speyside is a great place to visit also. I usually rent out a cootage in Aberlour for the week and you are supposed by distilleries. Id say you have at least 30 distilleries within a ten mile radius and being based in Aberlour, you have Macallan,Glenfiddich,Balvenie,Glenallacie,Glenfarclas,Glen Grant, oh and Aberlour itself within five minutes walking distance from where i was staying. All the distilleries ive mentioned are within a five mile radius or five to ten minutes drive. Speyside is a special place,and Aberlour is the perfect place to rent accommodation as its pritty much central to most of the distilleries.You're surprised at how close they are to each other. So if visting Speyside,Aberlour is the place to be,and it has al amenities that you need including a few restaurants.
Outstanding video! I’ve been to Scotland and toured distilleries in Speyside and the Highlands last year, but have not made it to Islay yet. I definitely plan on getting there, hopefully sooner than later and your video is a useful guide for me. One question about transportation. Could you also hire a driver for a day to take you to distilleries on your schedule?
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video! You absolutely can. One of the simplest ways to hire a driver for a day is to do so through Islay taxis. On their website it is one of the options you can arrange through them, and I'm sure others. I'm unsure as to the cost but it's certainly an option. Cheers 🥃
Great and helpful video for my planning! U mentioned the importance of a tour with floor malt rooms so I’m wondering if u think once is enough or not? While I haven’t been to Scotland yet, I’ve been learning about distilleries and watching video tours for some years so am inclined to avoid the repetition and mostly focus on warehouse tastings. Do u think one tour is enough and if so, which one was most comprehensive, or is there possibly two that are different enough to be worthwhile?
I think you are on the right track with booking mainly warehouse tastings Marc. If I went back I'd focus even more on those. One tour is likely enough for Malting floors. However, the Bruichladdich tour, even with the absence of a malting floor was one of our favourites, maybe second only to Springbank in Campbeltown. Kilchoman is a cool one to visit for their malting floor as they use their own Islay Barley and are the only one that makes a 100% in house floor malted bottling that you could taste and purchase(later batches being much better). Bowmore was the most interesting of the tour/tasting combinations though, especially with the no 1 vaults being the oldest whisky warehouses in Scotland. Still, you likely don't need to see multiple malting floors. Laphroaig's tour felt more automated and modern than the other two, and for me was less interesting. Hope this helps instead of making the decision harder haha. Cheers 🥃
That is a really tough one to answer, especially since we went to London, Edinburgh and elsewhere too. In Canadian dollars accomodation(a cabin on Lochindaal) was about $225 a night. Food is expensive about 25-30 pounds per person at a restaurant. Grocery store helped cut down that cost. the car rental on Islay was pricey, about $700 for 4 days. It would have been half that cost to rent in Glasgow but then you are paying more in gas, ferry fare and per mile charges so it still works out to a similar cost. Distillery tours/tastings range from 10 pounds to 120 depending on what ones you do. I'm honestly probably too afraid to actually total it all up haha. Cheers 🥃
What does the car rental cost? Did you run into any good tour companies that people were using? Sounds like warehouse tattings are more fun than tours.
Car rental on Islay was pricey, about $700CAD for 4 days, maybe a little less. It would have been half that cost to rent in Glasgow but then you are paying more in gas, ferry fare and per mile charges so it still works out to a similar cost. I can't speak tot he quality of tour companies but I did see one at Bruichladdich. Taxis are a good option if you don't need to pack your days too full. Warehouse tastings were definitely the way to go overall. They'd be what I return for whisky wise. Cheers 🥃
I can share some points we came up for our whisky holidays: Strip down your visits and decide what tastings you want to to for sure. Then book one tasting per day. At the other distilleries just visit the shop. In this way you only have one distillery where you have to be on time. This makes your days way more relaxed.
That's actually really solid advice Michael! Only visiting one per day would allow for a lot more relaxation and less hustling to make the next tour on time. Thanks for sharing this! Cheers eh 🥃
Thank you for drowning me in a wave of nostalgia! My first trip to Scotland in September 1997 included four nights staying in Port Ellen (having previously overnighted in Glasgow, Oban and Tarbert on Loch Fyne). Ardbeg was being refurbished by the Glenmorangie people at the time, so I couldn't tour that, but I did do Lagavulin and Laphroaig (including collecting my 'rent' as a Friend of Laphroaig). I caught the bus round to Bowmore and had a 30-year-old Ardbeg at the Lochside Inn, as Laphroaig (whose staff had been running Ardbeg before the takeover) hadn't had a bottle open to try and couldn't justify opening one for just me... The Lochside had a display dedicated to The Black Bowmore, for which they were charging £75 a single measure (25ml) at the time (bottles had launched at £100 and were already fetching £1,500 at auction by then - add a zero now!). Back then, I was a lot more mobile/energetic than I am now, so I made sure to walk to see the legendary Kildalton Cross. On the way back, I stopped off at the Ardview Inn to quench my thirst and have a sit down... and they had Black Bowmore for £9.20 a Scottish measure (35ml) - happy days!
I'm glad this video could bring back so many fond and wonderful memories for you Andrew. That's about the biggest compliment I could get on a video like this. It's stories like that of an unexpected £9.20 Black Bowmore while visiting Kildalton Cross that really hit it home. Islay is just a special place. I did find the prices for drams in the "big" towns a bit over the odds. There were diamonds in the rough to snipe still though. Sounds like Islay was the place to be in 1997 Andrew. Cheers 🥃
Thanks for the insight Matt. Making our first trip to Scotland in May.
Hope it was helpful, and I hope you have an unbelievable trip. Dreaming about going back so I'm excited for you that you'll be heading there soon. Cheers Brett! 🥃
thank you for this video, this video might be one of the king, thank you again,
Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Cheers 🥃
I'd also ensure any Islay trip includes at least a half day visit (or longer) to the wonderful island of Jura.
Great suggestion. I would have loved to go hiking on Jura, as well as explored a bit including the distillery. We ran out of time in our 4ish days but it's definitely on the must visit next time list. Cheers David 🥃
Brilliant video Matt, thanks for taking the time to explain it all. I'm saving this video for my future trip! If I write it here, I'm hoping it'll be written in the stars as well :))) Cheers my friend, what a trip you guys had!
Thanks man. Here's to the stars coming through with a trip to Islay in your future. Cheers man 🥃 Also, great idea to put that Ardbeg 8 up against the Lag 8 year. I was listening on my drive to work today, hence the lack of comment.
Great tips. I’ve been to Islay during festivals and outwith and enjoy going anytime even winter. One of my most enjoyable things during the festival was a speed boat from Ardbeg to lagavulin and laphroaig with a dram in hand of course 🥃
Thanks Sandy! The speedboat drams sound like a great memory and story! I would like to experience the Feis one day, sounds like a fantastic time. But there doesn't seem to be a bad time to visit. Cheers 🥃
Thanks for your insight , good starting point😂
Hope it's helpful in some way! Definitely just a starting point. Cheers 🥃
Ciao 👋 Matt, very good and useful video. Thanks 🙏 Slainthe 🥃 Ciao 👋 S.
Thanks for watching Sandro! Cheers 🥃Ciao 👋
Great video, Matt, as expected, and very useful tips as I never been there yet...But as I've been in other parts of Scotland, though, I can relate to many of your advises & every time I had a "loser" schedule I was happy about it because, like you said, you might have (good or bad) surprises, and I also do think, like you, that we all need pauses between distillery tours to enjoy the place/sceneries/landscapes and meeting people/locals...and like you said too, you might be back, so avoid too much FOMO mindset (easy to say, I know). Peas wise, for the record, I had a delicious pea soup at Lindores Abbey Distillery, served there with in mind the Medieval times...Also, last time I was in Scotland with a friend, we were afraid to run out of time for our long booked Aberfeldy distillery tour/special tasting, so without being convinced in advance to have a good meal there (I mean in the visitor center), to our surprise, the few they had were fantastic, even just the sandwhiches, so people, don't overlook food options at distilleries...there is a good chance you'll have a blast there. Cheers !
Thanks Greg! Hoping you get to Islay one day soon. Peas, they're everywhere! For the better of course haha. And yes, the distilleries did have surprisingly great food. Here's to all the lovely things we get to enjoy when we set aside the fomo and live in the moment. Cheers 🥃
My first Islay whisky is Ilich , next Laphroaig 10 ....Islay whisky is my favorite )))) Slainte !
There is just something about Islay whiskies isn't there? I adore Laphroaig and remember vividly my first time sipping it. Glad you're enjoying it too! Love it! Cheers 🥃
@@whiskyonthewestcoast good luck )
Speyside is a great place to visit also. I usually rent out a cootage in Aberlour for the week and you are supposed by distilleries. Id say you have at least 30 distilleries within a ten mile radius and being based in Aberlour, you have Macallan,Glenfiddich,Balvenie,Glenallacie,Glenfarclas,Glen Grant, oh and Aberlour itself within five minutes walking distance from where i was staying. All the distilleries ive mentioned are within a five mile radius or five to ten minutes drive. Speyside is a special place,and Aberlour is the perfect place to rent accommodation as its pritty much central to most of the distilleries.You're surprised at how close they are to each other. So if visting Speyside,Aberlour is the place to be,and it has al amenities that you need including a few restaurants.
Outstanding video! I’ve been to Scotland and toured distilleries in Speyside and the Highlands last year, but have not made it to Islay yet. I definitely plan on getting there, hopefully sooner than later and your video is a useful guide for me. One question about transportation. Could you also hire a driver for a day to take you to distilleries on your schedule?
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video! You absolutely can. One of the simplest ways to hire a driver for a day is to do so through Islay taxis. On their website it is one of the options you can arrange through them, and I'm sure others. I'm unsure as to the cost but it's certainly an option. Cheers 🥃
Great and helpful video for my planning! U mentioned the importance of a tour with floor malt rooms so I’m wondering if u think once is enough or not? While I haven’t been to Scotland yet, I’ve been learning about distilleries and watching video tours for some years so am inclined to avoid the repetition and mostly focus on warehouse tastings. Do u think one tour is enough and if so, which one was most comprehensive, or is there possibly two that are different enough to be worthwhile?
I think you are on the right track with booking mainly warehouse tastings Marc. If I went back I'd focus even more on those. One tour is likely enough for Malting floors. However, the Bruichladdich tour, even with the absence of a malting floor was one of our favourites, maybe second only to Springbank in Campbeltown. Kilchoman is a cool one to visit for their malting floor as they use their own Islay Barley and are the only one that makes a 100% in house floor malted bottling that you could taste and purchase(later batches being much better). Bowmore was the most interesting of the tour/tasting combinations though, especially with the no 1 vaults being the oldest whisky warehouses in Scotland. Still, you likely don't need to see multiple malting floors. Laphroaig's tour felt more automated and modern than the other two, and for me was less interesting. Hope this helps instead of making the decision harder haha. Cheers 🥃
Great information Matt… curious soup to nuts how much your entire trip cost?
That is a really tough one to answer, especially since we went to London, Edinburgh and elsewhere too. In Canadian dollars accomodation(a cabin on Lochindaal) was about $225 a night. Food is expensive about 25-30 pounds per person at a restaurant. Grocery store helped cut down that cost. the car rental on Islay was pricey, about $700 for 4 days. It would have been half that cost to rent in Glasgow but then you are paying more in gas, ferry fare and per mile charges so it still works out to a similar cost. Distillery tours/tastings range from 10 pounds to 120 depending on what ones you do. I'm honestly probably too afraid to actually total it all up haha. Cheers 🥃
@@whiskyonthewestcoast thanks Matt, That helps. It will probably be a couple years before I go but I think I want to spend a whole week on Islay.
What does the car rental cost? Did you run into any good tour companies that people were using? Sounds like warehouse tattings are more fun than tours.
Car rental on Islay was pricey, about $700CAD for 4 days, maybe a little less. It would have been half that cost to rent in Glasgow but then you are paying more in gas, ferry fare and per mile charges so it still works out to a similar cost. I can't speak tot he quality of tour companies but I did see one at Bruichladdich. Taxis are a good option if you don't need to pack your days too full. Warehouse tastings were definitely the way to go overall. They'd be what I return for whisky wise. Cheers 🥃
Campbeltown video next?
That could be done! I think it may wind up being a Campbeltown Livestream topic instead. Either way we'll definitely talk about it. Cheers 🥃