Then we did our distillery gig. We stopped at Ardbeg and had
lunch at their café… Kathy had steak pie (a staple for us here in UK) and Dan
had fish chowder (another staple) and haggis—red onion marmalade panni. For those turning up their noses now, it was
good!!! Kathy’s dessert was ice cream
with berries and whipped cream, mine was a delightful whiskey called Uigeadail
– a bourbon cask/sherry cask mix that was wonderful.
Then on to Lagavulin where I did a whiskey/chocolate
tasting. They pair a whiskey with a
particular flavor chocolate and it brings out the best in them both. I tasted two that may not be available in US—Jazz
2016 and Feis, a 16 year; both were made
for festivals and were very nice (but not peaty as we would expect). Kathy joined me in the tasting room, but not in the tasting.
On to Laphroaig where I tasted Laphroaig Select, which
is the result of whiskies matured in different casks, and then “married” into
one. It’s only available at the
distillery and very, very good.
Final stop was Bowmore distillery where I was handed a dram
of their 12 year good stuff (we drink it in Wisconsin) and then had a taste of
the “Hand-Filled” which is a special edition that the whiskey master has
followed as it matured and then the bottles are filled direct from the
cask. Super good!
Our last stop was Loch Finlaggen… a loch where the leaders of
the Celtic/Scot/Norse kingdoms called
Lords of the Isles met to settle disputes, make rulings, and pass new
laws. Their castle lies in ruins at the
edge of the very scenic loch. It was
here that the leaders met in the 1300’s – 1400’s. It was wet and raining, so we looked at the castle from afar.
And, oh yes, did I mention that we saw sheep? It was a great day! Tomorrow we move back to the mainland and begin our trek to Glasgow and home.
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