Scotland is famous for many things, but one thing sits above all others, its amazing Whisky!
Whisky from Scotland is popular around the entire world, and it all comes from the 108 distilleries spread over Scotland. Of these, 94 are single malt distilleries. These make whisky from barley and they include some of the most expensive drinks in the world. Scotch whisky is not only a large employer in Scotland, but also contributes to a quarter of all the food and drink exports from the UK, with around 40 bottles being shipped per second worldwide.
Scotch whisky comes from 5 distinct areas: Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside, Campbeltown and Islay- all of which produce very different styles of whisky, with differing flavours.
I have chosen to focus on one of these 5 areas; Islay. Famous for its strong peak favoured whisky, Islay is the fifth largest Scottish island and is located on the West coast of Scotland. It is known as the ‘Queen of the Hebrides’. The island currently has 9 distilleries, but records show that in the past there could have been up to 30 different distilleries.
The
population of Islay has dropped by 7% between 2001 and 2011, to around 3228 people,
but this decline is small in comparison with the reduction from 15000 people
back in the 1860s and the present day. Many other similar islands have had such
a large population decline that they have become unsustainable and are now
uninhabited.
Islay
whisky is well known for its smoky tastes, as the island has an abundance of
peat. The peat was used to dry the barley in the malting process in days gone
by, but now is just used for a flavouring, with oil heaters providing the heat.
Even on Islay, the whiskies from the 9 distilleries have varying tastes and are
created in very different ways.
This process only works on a relatively small scale, but it does create a unique and desirable product. However, this process still uses a great deal of energy which could be created on the island with the right investments.
