The Prestige Whisky guide to the Whisky Regions of Scotland – Part 4

Welcome to issue 4 of the Prestige Whisky guide to Scotch Whisky regions.

In recent days we’ve had an excellent response to our articles and if you’d like a pdf copy of the distillery map of Scotland that we’re recommending then feel free to e-mail through to :

info@prestigewhisky.com

Today we will be discussing perhaps the lesser known and certainly under appreciated regions of Islay and Campbeltown.

Islay whiskies tend to be heavier in style and many malts from this region will be typically more peaty and smoky with a hint of sea salt. Reading tasting notes on 'typical' Islay expressions you will often hear them described as being 'of the sea' or 'reminiscent of the seaside'.

A really good example of Islay Malt would be the famous Ardbeg, we feature the 10 Year Old expression within our Silver collection (http://www.prestigewhisky.com/acatalog/Prestige_Whisky_Silver.html)

Here's some thoughts on the Ardbeg,

Quite sweet on the nose, with soft peat, carbolic soap and Arbroath smokies. Intense yet quite delicate on the palate, with burning peats and dried fruit, followed by sweeter notes of malt and a touch of liquorice. Extremely long and smoky in the finish, with a fine balance of cereal sweetness and dry peat notes.

( Extract for tasting notes from whisky pages) Gavin D Smith and Tom Cannavan

Moving on to Island whiskies, there are many palate styles here and but reasonably typical and a brand new favourite our ours would be the Isle of Jura Paps, new 'Mountain' expression. Again available within our Island section.

Colour: Warm and glowing with subtle hints of ripe barley.
Nose: Fresh and appealing with nuances of tangerine and spice. The floral aromas are at the heart of the bouquet where the scents of rose petals, hyacinths and honeysuckle are fused together in perfect harmony.
Taste: Take a generous measure and slowly add a small trickle of cool still water. Hold it long in the mouth to unlock its delightful hidden secrets. Soft chewy caramel, fudge, Madeira cake and ripe apples have been lovingly blended together.
Finish: Barolo is more commonly known as 'The Wine of Kings'. A lofty status equalled only by that of our own Sacred Mountain.

Finishing with Cambeltown whiskies - sadly there are now only 3 distilleries currently operating in this region : -

Springbank,Glengyle and Glen Scotia.

For this section I wish to present to you a fabulous cheeky malt, the Glen Scotia 1992..

Nose: Initial sweetness, light and delicate in character. With
banana influences and a delicate briny edge.

Palate: Mouth coating, rounded with a subtle spice. Becomes
sweet and creamy.

Finish : Long and nutty.

With water

Nose: Fresh influences, heavy sweetness and citrus
fruit notes - lemon and limes.

Palate: Defined vanilla element, sweet - reminiscent of an ice
cream soda.

Finish: Drying

Body: Medium

Having taken a whistle stop tour around the fine distilleries of Scotland and the Isles I think it's about time to pause and recap. So that's the end of the tour for now. I'm off to pour myself a glass of the Glen Scotia '92 - a whisky I find nice and light to enjoy before a meal or perhaps following a light supper just as the light begins to fade over the horizon on a blustery Autumn day. Next time in the fifth and final instalment of our guide I will be recapping on where we've travelled and drawing your attention to not only the regional recommendations we've made but also a couple of other whiskies that perhaps lead on from this.

Remember as well that if you've enjoyed the guide we're offering (free I might add) a word version of all five articles along with a pdf of our favourite whisky distillery map of Scotland to anyone who e-mails and requests it from info@prestigewhisky.com