WHISKY
SMOKE SIGNALS For many, peat-fire smokiness is the definitive flavour of island whisky. However, Jason Thomson finds that the story of distilling on various islands reveals some surprisingly divergent styles
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here is a prevailing idea of what Scotland’s islands are – and then there is the reality. In fact, the Scottish islands might be among the most misunderstood archipelagos in the world. This isn’t to say the islands aren’t beautiful. They are. On the right day, their views and vistas are breathtaking. However, the Scottish islands painted in the minds of people through their memories of Whisky Galore are far from the truth. In fact, they do a disservice to the people that live there, and even to group them all as 'islanders' doesn’t ring true. Each island presents its own challenges. Living on Orkney is not like living on Mull, and life on Eigg has its differences to life on Skye. Each island is its own and, in some ways, that helps shape the people that live there. This carries over to the whiskies made on the islands. They each have their own particular style, often shaped by their particular island. There is no common flavour or technique – instead, like the people, they each have their unique way of doing things, with some islands even being home to several styles. Mull, for example, has been home to the Tobermory distillery (in some shape or form) since 1798, 10 The Guide to Scotland’s Islands
making it one of the oldest commercial distilleries in Scotland. Over the years, distillers have had different thoughts on what a whisky from Mull might be, and this has led Tobermory to have not one, but two distinct single malts being produced at the same distillery. The whisky named Tobermory is light, fruity and holds a hint of spice. The other, Ledaig, is most recognisable for its sweet smoke and earthy character. The only difference between the two whiskies is the use of peat to dry the barley at the start of the process, but this singular change makes for two very different drams. The Isle of Arran is in a similar situation. When the distillery first opened in 1995, it was producing both a fruity, Speyside-style malt and a much heavier, peated spirit. The global demand for single malt whisky has exploded in the ensuing years and Arran, like many distilleries, has had to grow. Instead of splitting the time of one distillery to make two styles, they built a new distillery (The Lagg distillery) to make their peated whisky. One island, one company, but two distilleries making two very distinct whiskies.
