We are touring and relaxing today, planning to hit the BIG 3 distilleries just outside of Port Ellen, but first we have to stop in to the ferry terminal to see if we can somehow wangle our way onto the early morning ferry back to Kennacraig in a couple of days. Our plans are to make it to Edinburgh in time for an airport hotel check-in, walkabout downtown, and dinner at Dishoom, the very popular Indian restaurant/curry house. With 1.5 hrs on the ferry, and 4+hrs drive, we won’t make it with our current late morning reservation, so it’s time to beg and plead in person, as the phone calls were not enough to make it happen. The ferry is fully booked, but not to say that some folks don’t show up, and they always leave room for a few slackers that don’t make reservations. I pop into the office but have no luck getting a rise out of the 5 ferry line employees slouching around in various office chairs……I assume just waiting for the next ferry to arrive so they can spring into action and get out there to wave their batons. What a waste of time! Back at the Beemer I urge the goats to go in and give it a try, but they return shortly with the same story, except they are told that if we arrive early and get in line, there is more than a very good chance we will get on the early boat. That’s what we’ll do.
Port Ellen is a very cute little town, with whitewashed houses lining the shore road around the bay………we will stop here on the way back for a tour. Just beyond town is the start of the 3 Distilleries Pathway, nicely paved and we have seen from the map that it leads you out past Laphroaig, then Lagavulin, and finally Ardbeg. Pretty soon they are going to have to change the name to the 4 Distilleries Pathway as there is a new kid in town……Portintruan……located between Laphroaig and town, it will be the first one on the path. It has a very interesting ownership group…..Elixir Distillers….and from what I have read, this will be their first whiskey production facility. Until now, they would buy and bottle whiskey from casks, and have developed some quite successful brands. The big three are all located on the shore and have terrific shops and welcoming areas. Ardbeg in particular looked like it was prepared to handle busloads, but as you can see from the pictures it was pleasantly quiet at this time of year. We toyed with buying ourselves more whiskey swag, but ended up just adding to our whiskey glass and T-shirt collections. The distillery shops, walking the properties along the shore, having some home baked snacks from the Ardbeg family…….all great. We talked about running up the coast to take in Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila……maybe even hop on that ferry over to Jura?…….but decide to cool our jets, stop in Port Ellen, and relax at the beautiful hotel property. FYI, Bunnahabhain produces one of the non-peaty whiskeys on the island, and Caol Ila, owned by those Diageo guys, is the largest of the ten working distilleries on the island with a production capacity of 3 million litres per year, and although it has some nice single malt brands roughly 95% of its output is used as a smoky backbone for famous blended whiskeys like Johnnie Walker (also owned by Diageo).
Back in Port Ellen we stop in at The Ardbeg House Hotel, just up the road from the harbour. It was formerly the Islay Hotel, but was purchased by the owners of Ardbeg Distillery, totally renovated and transformed in to a 5 Star, 12 suite, beauty. All the fixtures, artwork and furniture are products of the artisans and artists of Islay, and some of it is totally wild. We stay there for lunch…….chowder……delish……before heading back to the Machrie. The goats are down on their mileage today, so they will beachwalk…….me……nap!
This Machrie Hotel just feels over the top homey…….pets are welcome here, and when we gather in the big lounge room pre dinner, there is always a furry pooch or two, or three, to greet you. There is another good sized group here from Toronto/Collingwood, with Rosedale GC, and Georgian Bay Club, Osler Bluff connections. Fun to say hello and share some mutual acquaintances. Dinner fantastic once again……..last round tomorrow……time for some shut eye.
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