Our first round at The Machrie is this morning. We have a fantastic breakfast at the hotel and an interesting chat with Mabel who has been working here for years……she tells us of some pretty dark times, when the hotel and golf course were struggling to make a go of it, but new ownership revived it to what it is today. The pro shop is very handy, downstairs in the hotel, and Jimmy from the ferry has us all set up and ready to go…….buggy for me, and electric trolleys for the goats……..and we are off. The course was originally built if 1891 by Scottish golf pro Willie Campbell, and redesigned in 2018 by D.J. Russell to modernize the layout while still maintaining its raw character……7,024 yds. par 72……….I will be playing from some shorter tee boxes until I get warmed up……lol. I know sometimes rankings are only as good as the folks that produce them, but The Machrie comes in at #78 on Golf World’s Top 100. The course unfolds beautifully with the first few holes leading you down to the sea…….the wind is a factor on every hole, and as the course changes direction along the coast the wind hits you from all sides………..temps maybe a little cool, but more than manageable. I can tell this one is a beauty right from the start…….we all love it! I have said before that golf course pictures never really translate into what a course is actually like, but I am posting a bunch anyway. This is the only course on Islay, but with this one, you don’t need anymore. I could play this course all day every day and be very happy.
Having teed off early, we decide to go exploring in the afternoon. We know distillery central is just on the other side of Port Ellen, and not having enough time to get them all in, we head up island, targeting two others…….Bowmore and Bruichladdich. There is no shortage of distilleries on Islay…….10 I think, and at least a couple more on the way, based on some new buildings we have seen…….and these are all world class operations……big names in the whiskey business!
So why Islay? Research tells me that the island was just perfect in many ways when these distilleries were founded, some, over 200 years ago. Abundant fresh water…….extensive peat bogs……access to shipping for receipt of goods and to deliver the finished product……and in the early years when whiskey production was heavily taxed Islay’s difficult terrain and distance from government authorities made it attractive for illicit distilling. Over the years Islay whiskey developed a reputation for its distinctive character, and even though a couple of distilleries are producing a non-peaty product……..peaty is where it’s at on Islay baby. “Diageo”……if you know booze, you know these guys…..owning over 200 brands and sales in nearly 180 countries, and their presence on Islay is huge. Aside from owning Lagavulin, they have also brought back to life the Port Ellen Distillery, and own/operate Port Ellen Maltings which produces about 22,000 tons of malted barley per year, supplying Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Kilchoman, Lagavulin, Talisker, Tobermory and others…….made to order for each individual client.
Away we go, the Beemer purring like a kitten as we make our way up the coast. The scenery is beyond fantastic, with so much of this island totally untouched and in its natural state. We drive through the village of Bowmore, making our way around Loch Indaal, a sea loch, heading for Bruichladdich……we will catch Bowmore on the way back. Bruichladdich is a treat. They have upped their marketing game in the last few years and now feature the Classic Laddie Aqua colour all over the place…….see pictures…….and also produce one of our favourite gin’s, “The Botanist”, right here in whiskey country. The ladies book a gin tour for the next day so we will be coming back for that. I’m just not into any more whiskey tours, having done so many in the past, but we do have a tasting that goes down nicely, especially when I get all the goats leftovers on top of mine………picked up a vintage style rugby jersey w/logo, and the goats stocked up on take home gifts, added to our whiskey glass collection…….the goats also split a box of etched stemmed glasses and we now have no idea what they will be used for…..too small for wine, too big for liqueur, but oh they are so cute.
Heading back the way we came, Bowmore is just 15 minutes down the road. This is the oldest distillery on Islay, founded in 1779, and many of the buildings look like they were built in that era. Bowmore was a planned village with wide street laid out in a grid pattern and a stunning church at the top of the main street hill. Kilarrow Parish Church overlooks the village and the sea beyond, and was built in a unique circular shape so that nobody could sneak in the back door. A quick fact I came across…….A bottle of 1850 Bowmore Single Malt was sold at an auction in September 2007 for £29,400………”Expensive Birdie Juice”
Tomorrow is another day, with round #2 scheduled at The Machrie. It is getting close to feeding time for the goats so we head back down the road…….I know my comfy couch awaits, and there will likely be a beautiful sunset this evening………OK what a sunset, what a meal, what a perfect day.
Day 2
Carbon copy of Day 1……..man I really like this golf course……so great having the pro shop downstairs, and we just walk out and everything is ready……very slick. Apres golf we have the gin tour scheduled at Bruichladdich, so up the road, I drop the goats and head off for some exploring. It’s not long before the road becomes single track, and a little sketchy in parts, so I turn around and stop in the village of Port Charlotte at the hotel…….get myself a seaside table, a pint, and a bag of crisps, and soak it all in…….what a day. Back at the distillery, the ladies are all abuzz, and I am wondering…..Just how much gin do they feed you on one of these tours? Apparently a fantastic tour, with one of the highlights being introduced to “Ugly Betty”………Ugly Betty is a former “Lomond” whiskey still, now converted for the production of their well known gin, “The Botanist”. Every bottle of The Botanist worldwide has come from Ugly Betty……..not only that, all the botanicals used in the production are from Islay. Nine classic gin botanicals, enhanced with 22 herbs and flowers all found on the island.
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