Full Description
This guide for the whisky enthusiast covers the distilleries of Islay, Jura, Mull and Skye along with historical information on distilling on Arran and in Argyll. Neil Wilson first visited these distilleries in 1984, aboard the ketch "Alystra" and wrote "Scotch and Water" as a result of his trip, delving into the history, development and the people who made the great whiskies of history. This book incorporates the original research from "Scotch and Water" and includes a great deal of new material. The Islay malt sector is growing faster than any other in the trade, and this has led to the annual Islay Whisky Festival which attracts thousands of overseas visitors. The book not only features the established distilleries on Islay (Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Bowmore, Ardbeg, CaolIla, Lagavulin, Laphroaig) and Jura, Mull and Skye (Talisker) but also the lost distilleries of Port Ellen, Tallant and Ardenistiel among others. The west-coast Oban Distillery is also included and there is a thorough look at the major role that women played in the history of illicit distilling in the County of Argyll and in Kintyre, with maps of known sites of distilling and appendices of the distillers and where and when they lived. Some of these records go back to the late 17th century. Local amenity information, along with maps and travel information, is also included. The book is copiously illustrated in full colour throughout.
Contents
Acknowledgements IV Introduction VII 1 A Barbarous People 1 2 Argyll 15 3 Islay 27 4 Jura 93 5 Mull 102 6 Skye 109 Appendices 1 The Making of malt whisky 121 2 The Lost Distilleries of Islay 130 3 List of persons contravening the Excise Act, 1801 134 4 Early 19th-century distillers in Kintyre 136 5 The Classic Malts Cruise 140 6 How much and how many for how much? 144 Bibliography 145 Index 147
