Islay

Islay malts must be, for everyone from the beginner to the connoisseur, the most distinctive of all single malt whiskies - certainly their flavour is among the strongest of all the regions.  Peat is the key, both in terms of its influence on the ingredients used for distillation and of its presence in the final taste.  The island has extensive beds of peat, over which the water used in the distillation process flows, arriving at its destination already flavoured.

Varying amounts of peat are also used to dry the barley.  In the past this latter ingredient too was produced locally, although now it maybe brought in.  Peat is noticeable in the flavours of all the Islay malts, from the mildest to the intensely flavoured, imparting a dryness which is sometimes balanced by sweetness, sometimes emphasised by smokiness.   For beginners to single malts, the Islay whiskies seem like an acquired taste, but they are an essential ingredient in the whisky blending process, and the chances are that you may think of as distinctively Scottish flavour in your whisky in imparted by the presence in the blend.