So onto our last full day on Islay , The weather was miserable when we went out , you couldn’t see across Loch Indaal ! First off we went to Islay Studios to pick up a couple of prints Mark and Helga had framed for us…….

This was an Ian Gray print i bought for Mel a few birthdays ago and we thought it was about time we got it framed , especially as it’s been a special birthday .

Another of Ians prints , this one came with a Whisky Bottling he did in 2004 .

Mark and Helga made a fantastic job of framing Ians prints , Mel was one happy woman with her Ardbeg print ! And talking of Ardbeg….. we headed off down there for lunch again , i was fairly predictable and went for the Crab Chowder while Mel went for the Baked Tattie Prawn Marie Rose . We then headed back to the Cottage to pack and also called in at An Taigh Osda to thank Paul and Joan again for Wednesday night .

I mentioned earlier in the trip all we seemed to be doing was eating and drinking…… Well tonight wasn’t any different ! We headed off to the Bridgend Hotel for our last meal of this trip and a mighty fine meal it turned out to be . Mel went for Duck Confit , Plum and ginger chutney with granary toast followed by Sirloin Steak with Bernaise Sauce and balsamic roasted tomatoes . I went for Angus Ogg Gruinart Oysters ( Oysters deep fried in an Angus Og beer batter) followed by Fillets of Plaice and Scallops in a lemon and chive butter with Spinach . I can only say the food was absolutely fantastic , i was a piggy and went for a pud as well , a sticky toffee pudding and Clootie dumpling with a whisky sauce , the clootie was up there with the two other great dumplings i’ve had , Marys at Ardbeg and Lillians Mothers at Bunnahabhain ! Once again we were well looked after by Lorna and her staff , a great way to end the holiday .

Saturday 7th April   

We left the Isle on the 9.45am ferry and had a really nice crossing over to the mainland and as usual a Calmac Scottish Breakfast was consumed…….

So till our return in August , a big thank you to all who made this holiday so special and gave Mel a 50th birthday to remember !

There’s something so nice about waking up in the opulent surroundings of An Taigh Osda , looking over the sun kissed shores of Loch Indaal…….

And there was more to come….. A Full Scottish Breakfast ! 

It did not disappoint , we packed our bags , said our goodbyes to Paul and Joan and headed back to Carraig . After freshening up we headed over to Bowmore to pick up supplies including our usual stash of Islay Soaps (The Bunnahabhain  Seafarer one) . We spent the rest of the afternoon calling in to see friends , Mary at Bruichladdich and Ella who’s now working at the Gaelic Centre , to thank them for Mels Birthday Present and catch up with the latest going ons . Another nice , relaxing day ended with a bite to eat and few drinks in the cottage . 

So it’s midway through our holiday and it’s a lovely Sunny but slightly chilly day , It’s also Melanies Birthday , her half century . So after the excitement of opening her cards and pressies we headed off down to Ardbeg for a bite to eat . We went for the Ardbeg Crab Chowder (again!) and the Aromatic Chicken fried rice , As usual the Chowder was wonderful and the Fried Rice was absolutely beautiful , a taste sensation in the mouth !

When i asked Melanie what she wanted to do for her birthday there was only one answer from her “I want to spend a night in An Taigh Osda !” , ever since our first visit to the place for a meal she has loved the place , since then we’ve been back for umpteen meals and a stay . It is a pretty unique hotel on Islay , Paul and Joan pay great attention to the smallest of details and their food is the best on the Isle ( in our humble opinion ) .

Mel settles into the room

We checked in at 4.30pm and placed our order for the evening meal , there seemed to have been some guessing going on as to what we’d have and Paul seemed to be winning…….

Room with a view

We retired to our room to get ready and also admire the view from the bay window , you couldn’t really ask for a better view across Loch Indaal , Room 4 offers great panoramic views from the top floor . We also watched the going ons outside with the Police using their Speed Gun , first time we’d seen a speed trap on Islay after 14 years of visits !

Mel Chilling out

So we headed down for Melanies birthday meal , we both started with the Locally caught langoustines in Garlic , lemon and tomato – one of them starters where you’ve just got to dive in to get the best out of it . Mel went for the Grilled Sea Bass  with a pistachio and Parmesan Risotto , with sweet potato crisps and parsnip puree for her main meal – she found the combination of flavours and textures and the Risotto was to die for ! I went for the Roast rack of Scottish lamb on a bed of minted pea mash potato with roasted parsnips and carrots , the lamb was perfect , so succulent and juicy . We finished off with the Scottish cheeses with biscuits & chutney . A perfect meal ! We retired to the Lounge and Mel enjoyed the rest of her bottle of wine and i enjoyed a few drams . Later on we had a wee natter to Paul and Joan and then headed off to bed .

The Room

A HUGE Thank You to Paul and Joan for making Mels Birthday so special ! It’s hard to put down in words just how good the food was , no amount of words will do it justice and the An Taigh Osda is indeed a special place on Islay !

Still not as bad as some parts of Scotland……

After a late breakfast we decided on another easy day , now you may well have noticed by now we haven’t been doing a lot on this visit apart from eat and drink , this isn’t due to the change in weather but to me still feeling slightly under the weather from a heavy cold and chest infection , so we headed along to The Islay House Square to drop some prints off for framing at The Islay Studios , Its always  nice to catch up with Mark and Helga but the only problem with going into their Gallery is that when you’ve admired their work it suddenly brings to the fore your inadequacies in the photographic department….. Their Studio is well worth a visit if you’re passing ! A message to Mr Gray , yes after nearly 7 years we’ve finally got around to getting your prints mounted , we needed to find the right frames……

We headed back to the cottage picking up some more coal en route  and settled down for the rest of the day with a lovely real fire burning in the hearth , some good Single Malts to hand for me and a bottle of Champagne for the good woman .

Bit of a dour morning weather wise when we woke up but it did brighten up later . Nothing planned for today so we headed off down to Ardbeg for a spot of lunch . It wasn’t very busy when we got there but it did fill up later . As usual the food was superb , we both went for the same thing , starter of Ardbeg Crab Chowder  with the Ardbeg Burger for the main . After a bit of a natter to the good people of Ardbeg we headed up to Bowmore to pick up a few supplies then back to the cottage . In the evening we headed back down to the south of the Isle to have a meal at The Islay Hotel . Mel went for the Shredded Duck for starter and a Steak for the main course , i went for the Scallops to start with and a steak for the main . It was nice enough but we both agreed it wasn’t a patch on the meal we’d had there 5 weeks ago . Then it was back to the Cottage and a blazing fire……  

Not as good as day as yesterday , getting on to dreich would best describe it , but sunday is a day of rest and we always take it easy after the long day of yesterday . So a lie in , brunch , a quick drive over to Bowmore , a natter to John Maclellan , getting the Fire ready for tonight and now…… trying a few samples of whisky kind friends have sent me over the past few weeks ! 

First up the newest 1990 Bunnahabhain Cask from Berry Bros and Rudd courtesy of Rob , where are all these 1990 sherry casks coming from ? This one is Cask 18 and is 53.1% abv , light mahogany in colour , incredibly rich fruit cake on the nose along with the Bunnahabhain sweetness , definite Christmas cake special . The palate continues on from the nose , a very luxurious , oily dram , a very good sherried Bunnahabhain . There is just a slight hint of “meatiness” on the finish but nothing to spoil the overall enjoyment . A big thumbs up from the delightful Melanies direction as well……

Carrying on the Bunnahabhain sherried theme , the next one comes courtesy of CJ from the Whisky Base shop , a 10yo bottled by The Whisky Agency at 46% from Cask 909 . Dried fruits , cake mix and the Bunnahabhain sweetness (Edinburgh Rock) come through on the nose and palate only this time with youth in it’s favour the Bunnahabhain traits have an easier time over the sherry .  A nicely balanced  Bunnahabhain with the spirit and sherry in good harmony .

Now a slight diversion away from Islay , A 2000 highland Park from the Whisky Base Archives selection , bottled at 50.9% from an ex-bourbon Hoggie it’s very pale in colour , light Chardonnay wine , light and creamy at first on the nose , then banana and fruit salad . The palate is sweet , creamy , nettles (?) , peppery and a little spirity . The finish is spicy but also a little immature , i suspect this wasn’t a very active cask and could have done with either leaving alone for a while or reracking , not you usually Highland Park that’s for sure .

Now on to possibly my favourite non-Islay distillery , Longmorn , this one is a 1988 23yo from Refill Sherry Hogshead #14379 in the First Cask range , abv 52.6% . The initial nose is leather , furniture polish then an astonishing amount of fruit ! Also toffee and very dry sherry . The palate is again dry sherry , dark chocolate , cherry liqueur and creamy coffee . A very good and very different Longmorn to the Independent one’s i’ve been used to , i can now see where the famous old SMWS ones came from with this one .

Next up it’s back to the Archives range for a 1975 36yo Glen Grant , bottled at 46.6% from Hoggie #5476 . An incredibly fruity dram both on the nose and palate , the nose also has an artificial cream tang to it . The palate also has an added spiciness to it with a twist of pepper . A really nice , old Glen Grant .

The Penultimate dram , a 2004 7yo Archive Ledaig at 61.9% from Hogshead #900009 , another light dram , chardonnay wine in colour . A quite light nose , green peat / mossy  , very vegetal with a waft of smoke . The palate is very young tasting , medicinal , lemony but just about drinkable . This definitely could have done it a few more years and it isn’t a patch on the young Ledaig BBR released a couple of years ago .

Lastly it’s back to Islay for a 1998 13yo Laphroaig Archive bottling from Bourbon Hoggie #700228 . Pale gold in colour , the nose is medicinal but quite fresh with lemon . The palate isn’t too powerful (it’s abv is 54.2%) , quite lemony with the medicinalness , not a bad Laphroaig but i’ve had better .

Once again it’s time for our Spring Visit to Islay , Doesn’t seem like 5 weeks since we were last here…… This time for a change we’re doing the week leading up to Easter and once again we’re based in Port Charlotte at Sarah Roys Lorgba Cottages . As usual it’s an early start on the first day to get up to Kennacraig for the 1pm ferry across to Port Askaig . We encountered a bit of fog once we’d reached Carlisle but by the time we reached the other side of the Clyde it was a fantastic Spring Morning , we even stopped on the top of Rest and Be Thankful to capture some of the gorgeous views…….

(click on photos to see full size versions)

Even Inveraray wasn’t it usual rainswept self…….

After our usual pre-ferry Coffee and cake in Tarbert , it was off to the Ferry Terminal and a rather busy Finlaggan due to the School Easter Hols just starting , it was a lovely trip across…….

Leaving West Loch Tarbert

 The sunshine continued on Islay and after settling down in Carraig we went off for tea at the Port Charlotte Hotel , Mel had a nice steak and i went for  the Sea Bass and Scallop combo , mine was washed down with a lovely pint of Angus Og and a Lagavulin 12yo . We retired back to the cottage and got the homefire burning and i finished the night off with a couple of drams of the Geordie Laddies own 10yo Port Charlotte , Well when in Port Charlotte………. 

The Finished Article

When i first started being obsessed with Malt Whisky from Islay it was always a dream to have my own bottling of a 10yo Islay Single Malt . In 2001 it took a step closer with the reopening of Bruichladdich Distillery and their offers of Casks for sale . The first one was the Bloodtub but that was never likely to reach 10yo due to the small size of the cask and the speeded up maturation rate . Then in the late summer of 2001 at a barbeque at Stuarts house i mentioned about the Bloodtub purchase and in a drunken haze we decided to purchase a barrel . So gathering a few friends together we set about getting our own cask . In early December it was finally filled . On the first of many visits to collect samples with the warehouseman John Rennie , it was pointed out we had a Fresh and not Refill Bourbon cask . John has been very good with his predictions , he said the Bloodtub would be ready early , 3 – 5 years , this one would be perfect at 10 , so we just need to see if he’s right about the SOI cask with his “Teenager” prophesy ! So Ten Years on we have our own 10yo Islay…….

From a First Fill ex-bourbon barrel bottled at 64.4% , A rich Gold colour, the initial nose at full strength is very smoky and spicy , then a sweet peatiness with seashore and peat bog inter-mingling . The palate at full strength is very sweet and strong, loads of vanilla and wood spices with the peatiness attacking from the rear, the finish is long spicy with a sweet peatiness. The addition of water brings out fudge on the nose and lemon citric, fudge and a slight creaminess to the palate.
Perfectly drinkable at full strength , doesn’t over power the senses . It has it’s own individual personality in the Islay peated stakes but with water it does remind me of a certain South Sider that happens to be my favourite .

Am i happy with it ? Of course i f*$£ing Am !!!!
How does it compare to My First PC ? it’s just as good , if not better , i love my Islays , 10yo , at Caskstrength , from fresh Bourbon Barrels !!!!!

Thursday 23rd February

We set off a little bit earlier this trip due to Rest and be thankful being closed ( there had been a lot of rain and one of the alarms had went off ) , so it was the Tarbet – Crianlarich diversion. We had a bit of rain and wind on the way up  but managed to get up safely stopping off at Balloch for breakfast. And Tarbert for morning coffee before arriving at Kennacraig. 

The ferry was very quiet , and we had a smooth crossing with just a touch of swell . Once on Islay ,we made our way to our place of stay .Distillery House , Bowmore (one of Bowmore Distilleries Cottages) . a nice rental , well equipped   and a bottle of Bowmore 12 waiting on the table upon you arrival .After a freshen up , a dram and a  consultation with a few of our friends on the isle , we decided to give The Lochside a  try for somewhere to eat and a good choice it tuned out to be , greatly improved since our last visit last September . The food was spot on and much appreciated by the group !  After a few drinks everyone retired to the cottage to get some sleep before the main event of this trip…..

Friday 24th February

(Click on photos to see full size version)

So the day of the bottling finally arrived , it’s a day i’ve been waiting for for over 6 years following the disappointment of not getting to Islay to see my Bloodtub being bottled due to the weather knocking off the ferries .So it was an early start to the day to be at Laddie by 9am . The best laid plans don’t always work out , a few hiccups ensued but slightly later than expected we actually got to see the cask being bottled !

The first sighting of the whisky was in a little glass container to the top left of the bottling machine and i was taken aback by how much darker it was than the last sample over a year and a half ago .

Filling the first bottles

And there's more.....

Four bottles were filled at a time and the Guys doing the filling even allowed us to have a go…...

Eddie gets his chance

My Turn !

We got our first try of the whisky at this point from a plastic jug ! Needless to say it went down very well !!!! We were also given a try of the Islay gin which was being bottled on the main line while ours was getting done .

The Caps being applied

The Numbers start growing

After getting over the shock at the strength it was still at after 10 years our next thoughts were how many bottles ? The boys thought it was going to be about 220 given the volume loaded into the filling container , we were hoping for more and we got it ! 243 bottles !

Wor Stash !!!

At this point there was a lull in proceedings to work out the costs, apply the tax sticker and box up (there wasn’t time to label so we said we’d pick the labels up the next day and put them on ourselves ) so we went off on a tour of the distillery with Mary . As usual it was a great tour with Mary , full of her wit and wisdom .

Mary introduces the gang to Ugly Betty

In The Still Room

So after the tour we headed back to the shop for a try of the Current valinch , an aced Port Charlotte just over 9 years old . By this time the boxed bottles were ready for loading into the transport and we bid our farewells to the Staff at Laddie . Many thanks to Jonathan and the 2 lads in the bottling hall for a superb morning .

After dropping the 41 cases off at the cottage we headed off to Ardbeg for a spot of lunch . We got the usual warm welcome in the Old Kiln and settled down for a bite to eat and very nice it was ! Most of the boys went for the Baked Tattie with Haggis , Mel went for the Tattie with Prawn Marie Rose  and i went for The Pasta Bolognese . After being fed and watered we went off with Emma for a tour of the distillery . Emmas tour flew over , i know some of the lads really appreciated her going into the history of the place and her telling us anyone could ask a question except me as mine were usually too technical ! 

After the tour we retired to the Chairmans Study to partake in some of the wares and were joined by Mickey armed with a few extra drams , very nice they were too ! It was nice that the lads got to have a chat to a manager on their first visit to Islay , always a special moment (well in my eyes anyway !) .

After bidding goodbye , we headed back to the cottage to freshen up before hitting Bowmore for an Indian and a couple of drinks . Later on i got to catch up with Phil Gray in Duffies Bar , nice to finally meet someone in the flesh who i’d only spoke to on line ! 

Saturday 25th February

Another bit of an early start to the day as Mel and Myself headed for a flying visit to The Rhinns , first stop Port Charlotte to pay Sarah Roy for our Easter Rental and then Bruichladdich Distillery to pick up the labels .

The Finished Article !

After returning the Boys headed off to Bowmore Distillery for a tour while Mel relaxed . The tour was very good , giving the lads a chance to see a working Floor Maltings and the guide was very good (sorry can’t remember her name !) . We were given the darkest as the end of dram tour .

In the afternoon the lads headed off for a tour of the Isle while Mel and myself first of all dropped into the Lochside for a light lunch ( very , very good , Mel had Prawn Marie Rose Baked Tattie and i went for the Leek and Potato Soup . Well recommended) then headed off for a drive . First stop was Bunnahabhain , it was great to be back at one of our favourite spots but so depressing to see the Cottage falling apart , literally ! C’mon Burns Stewart do something about this !!!!
We then headed over the Mulindry Road where we encountered some of the local wildlife and some more geese !

Mels new friend !

We love going over that road , it never fails to produce the goods animal wise and Mel got to make a new friend…….

For the Evening we headed down to Port Ellen to meet up with Ella at Islays Newest Hotel . This was our first visit to The Islay Hotel as it opened just slightly after our last visit . A few of us got a bit of a shock at the Bar prices , £6.95 for a bottle of Colonsay Lager !

It was a busy night in the Restaurant , someone was celebrating their 70th Birthday , but we eventually got sat down for what turned out to be an excellent meal . The starter tried included Haggis parcels , Duck Pate ( Mel Choice ) and Scallops (my choice) . Main meals sampled included Fish and Chips , The Chicken Breast , The Steak and The Islay Fish Selection – i had this and if you love fish you can’t go wrong with this ! Meals at the Islay Hotel aren’t cheap , Mid to High range for Islay but the quality is reflected in this price and i can say we’ll be back there again pretty soon ! A grand night was had by all and it was nice for the Geordie Laddies to meet the person who handled the sale of our cask by the distillery ! It’s always a pleasure to spend a night out with Ella !!!

The Islay Hotel is very nice inside and done out to a very high standard and as stated the food is excellent .

We bid our farewells and headed back to Bowmore to get our heads down for the final time this trip .

Sunday 26th February

Always the saddest day the day of departure , we headed off to Port Askaig to pick up the morning ferry . Once on board we had a Calmac Breakfast and sat back and enjoyed a calm crossing over to the mainland . Till the next time on Islay……

The Geordie Laddies Photo Galleries

Here are some photo Galleries from other members of the Syndicate……. 

Eddies….
Geoffs….

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,900 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Not bad for a wee blog like this in it’s first year !

Thank You to the Many people who visited during 2011 and i hope to see you back soon , have a very Happy and Prosperous 2012 !