Day Eleven (Sunday)
We did not set the alarm again today, mainly because we didn’t need to. I used to wake up naturally around 5:30 am. But since the pandemic, it’s now around 7:30 am. So on this trip, I’ve been waking up around 6:30 am. And we are usually out of the house around 10 am, but today we had to be on the road around 9:15 am to make the long drive to the north end of the island. We have a warehouse tasting at Bunnahabhain. We stopped in yesterday, and they said that we had to signup online but thought there was space for us. So I’m glad that I tried to book it while we were there because it said it wasn’t an option online because they were full. So they told us just to show up about 10:15, and all would be good.
I’m falling in love with Islay. A small island that is only about 20 miles from top to bottom, and Bowmore, the capital, is 10 miles from anywhere. There are only a few roads, and most are single-lane, yet it’s effortless to get about. So, back to the day; We are taking a shortcut that takes us around Bowmore. Not like an interstate looping around a major city, this is a 9-mile single-lane road that avoids the few shops in Bowmore. Unfortunately, as with most of our days here, it is spitting rain. Not hard, but just enough. As we were driving along and taking in the fantastic views (btw- we only two cars passed us on the road), a rainbow appeared. At first, you could see just a tiny piece of it, but it was very vivid. We stopped to take a photo. As we continued, it got more prominent and more vivid. Again, we would stop and take a picture. As we were getting closer to Bunnahabhain, the rainbow became grander and even doubled itself. Again, we stopped, and this time I pulled out the Canon. It’s like this rainbow was taking us right to the distillery. We are now getting so close you can see where the pot of gold should be, but it would move and lead us right into the parking lot. Not sure anyone could have started the day off any better.
I’ve been drinking scotch for a long time, but I’m not a details guy, and so I don’t pay much attention to what I’m drinking. So it wasn’t until 2019, when we took the scotch tour in Edinburgh, that I even knew that scotch had different regions. And that was when Islay became a must for me. So I’ve had bottles of Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Kilchoman. I knew that Bowmore was scotch but never had it. On our first anniversary, Katy and I did a tour of Glenfiddich distillery, which has been my go-to ever since (almost 30 years.) But recently, I’ve been drawn to Ardbeg and Kilchoman. So when the rainbow led us to the pot of gold at Bunnahabhain, I was excited to see what they had.
As I said the other day, in my opinion, the best way to dive into scotch is by paying for the warehouse tours. I highly recommend the distillery tours, but most distilleries have the same process – just different setups and volumes. The warehouse tour is where you meet the whiskey and get to experience a variety of styles. Besides tasting the whiskey, all tours do a great job of providing history, so they become history lessons. As the rainbow must have known, today’s tour was a grand slam. The details, the storytelling, the putting you right in the barrel was fantastic. At Bunnahabhain, they mainly use different types of sherry barrels, and we got a detailed lesson in the sherry region of Spain. The other nice thing about the warehouse tours is that they are small and get to know the other folks. We have met several folks multiple times. So you build up a connection, and some we have exchange emails—just a joy to expand the discussion.
Though we have benefited by having a rental car, I would hire a driver for the days we do the warehouse tours on our next visit. Katy became the driver, and so she had her samples in small bottles to drink at home. It’s just not the same as consuming while in the warehouse.
With not much more on our schedule for the day, we had lunch at the Bowmore Hotel. If you have a chance, you must stop in. The display of scotch is awe-inspiring. We were able to grab a late afternoon nap and then hiked most of the Three-distillery hike, where we saw three more rainbows. Finally, we had a small dinner at the Islay Inn’s bar. The food is so good. No 1 Charlotte Street is where we like to end the night. The tiny little pub is attached to the hotel. The bartender, Ann, is charming and provides good information. I talked to her about the rainbows, and she mentioned white rainbows that they get every so often.
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