Collection: Islay Whisky

Islay is a small island off the west coast of Scotland, and it produces the most distinctive whisky in the world: peated, smoky, medicinal, maritime. People either love it immediately or need a few attempts.

Where the smoke comes from

Barley has to be dried before it is malted. On Islay it is dried over burning peat — compressed bog vegetation — and the smoke compounds bind to the grain and survive distillation. The measure is PPM (phenol parts per million): Bowmore sits around 25, Laphroaig and Lagavulin near 40, and Octomore has exceeded 300.

Not all Islay is the same

Lagavulin — the balanced one. Rich, sherried and smoky at once, and the usual recommendation for a first serious Islay.
Ardbeg — the most intense and medicinal.
Laphroaig — iodine and seaweed. The most divisive whisky in Scotland.
Bowmore — gentler smoke with floral notes underneath.
Bruichladdich — unpeated in its core range; Port Charlotte and Octomore are its peated lines.
Bunnahabhain — mostly unpeated, and the exception on the island.