Whiskies Galore: A Tour of Scotland's Island Distilleries

by Ian Buxton

Island whiskies have long held a fascination and a powerful emotional draw on whisky drinkers the world over. Their special combination of heritage, mystique, and remote location captures the imagination; their highly distinctive flavours are often imitated but seldom bettered. There have been few books on island whisky and none written in recent years.

But Whiskies Galore is not your average whisky book. It is not simply a catalogue of distilleries, but a story of discovery and adventure. Join Ian Buxton on a personal journey across Scotland's islands, where he learns to fish with high explosives, ends up hurling his dinner into the sea, and comes face to face with a basking shark. Combining an expert's knowledge of whisky with a travel writer's fondness for anecdote, and with a keen description of place, he provides a special treat for all who love the islands' magical drams.

Genres: Scotland, Nonfiction

295 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 14, 2017

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a very entertaining book, combining history and whisky on the Scottish Islands as well as some travel and a good splash of humor. Buxton has a 35+ year background in the whisky business and journalism.

In order to best enjoy it you should be at least open to hearing about whisky. It is not a review type book. In fact, Buxton tells the reader to go to the internet or current magazines for that. Whiskies Galore was first published in 2017 and is not terribly dated. He travels from island to island searching out distillers past and present and the individual island’s history. There is a bit of humorous travel suggestions and he briefly talks about whisky tastes that have changed the distilleries.

His humor may not appeal to everyone but I thought he could be hysterical at times. He loves whisky for the right reasons (sometimes island gin too) and tells it like it is. His taste in whisky synched well with mine but he does not make fun of tastes unless they are of the pompous sort. He’s not a “smoke head” but did a good and I think fair job with Islay whisky. If you like the favorite of King Charles and DCI Banks (Laphroaig) he doesn’t sneer. His message is “whisky is for drinking”. He has small tolerance for whisky collectors who think they are going to make loads of money. He can be hard on advertising copy, which is funny and relatable, calling some of it “snake oil to the gullible.”

He does, for some odd reason, think we want to hear about his love of special ink and collectible pens. Quirky. Why wasn’t this edited out? The ending is a little abrupt.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable visits to Islay, Jura, Arran, Mull, Harris & Lewis, Raasay, Skye, and Orkney
I've been exploring Scotch single malt whiskies for the last 18 months, sharing a dram or two each evening with my wife and also doing a lot of reading about the histories, styles, personalities, and overall character of the many distilleries around Scotland. I wanted to read a whisky travel book focused on each particular region as well, which isn't as easy as it sounds, but have found the following great fun and perfect to read in the evenings with a wee dram at hand:

1) Peat Smoke and Spirit: A Portrait of Islay and its Whiskies by Andrew Jefford
2) The Whisky River: Distilleries of Speyside by Robin Laing
3) Raw Spirit: In Search of the Perfect Dram by Iain Banks
4) Chasing the Dram: Finding the Spirit of Whisky by Rachel McCormack
5) Whiskies Galore: A Tour of Scotland's Island Distilleries by Ian Buxton

I have yet to find a book dedicated to Highland distilleries, but I'm sure one will be written eventually given the global boom in Scotch whiskies and spate of new artisinal distilleries cropping up throughout Scotland, hoping to ride the wave and deliver aged expressions before this boom cools (hopefully not, but everyone in the whisky business knows that after the boom comes the bust).

This book by Ian Buxton was particularly useful as he visits not only all the big names on Islay & Skye & Orkney, but also visits some of the small startups like Torabhaig on Skye, Isle of Harris, Abhainn Dearg on Lewis, and Isle of Raasay distillieries. Since they cannot sell whiskies till they have aged sufficiently, which is technically 3 years but generally only develop sufficient character after 6-8 years and preferably 10-12 years, most distilleries produce gin in the meantime since it can use similar equipment and doesn't need aging in oak barrels. So the current boom in gin is a tailwind in their vulnerable early days with no cash inflow from whisky sales unless they are selling casks to individuals/investors, which is always a tricky proposal as it's an unknown quantity and requires a leap of faith by buyers.

The author has a refreshing lack of snobbery about the whisky business in general: he isn't afraid to say that peated whiskies are not actually his favorite, which is sacrilege to the peat-head worshippers of Islay, and he shares with me a strong dislike of whisky collectors & investors who have little interest in actually drinking these carefully-crafted whiskies that have lain quietly in dunnage warehouses, sometimes for decades, to reach the lips and heart of a whisky fan. They are made to be drunk, not collected!

We were planning a two-week whisky distillery tour of Islay, Speyside, and the Highlands near Inverness this summer, but due to the 2019 coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown in the UK (and most of the world), we have to wait till autumn, so in the meantimes these whisky travelogues certainly ease the wait, and will make the actual trip that much more precious when we can finally go.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

"And the whisky, what is it but the earth’s rich essence, a symbol of all fruit and corn and cheerfulness and kindling?" (George Mackay Brown, poet, author and resident of Stromness, quoted in this book).

About 8 years ago, my wife and I fell in love with the Scottish islands, in particular, the Hebrides (Inner and Outer), and we have holidayed there every year since then. Well, we went to Norfolk in search of family history and the swallowtail butterfly one year, but that is not relevant to this review. The point is that I was predisposed to enjoy this book which my wife gave me last Christmas because she knew that a book about whisky from the Scottish islands would be my kind of thing.

Ian Buxton takes us on a tour of several islands, with the main aim being to visit the distilleries there and sample their products. Having spent a lifetime involved in the whisky industry, he knows what he is talking about (although I have to disagree with him when he is somewhat disparaging about whiskies from Islay). Of the places he mentions, I have visited all but Raasay and Orkney. So, as he talks about Arran, Jura, Mull, Islay, Harris & Lewis and Skye, I can mentally walk with him through the distilleries having visited them all myself. Even on Islay, which must have the highest density of distilleries of anywhere on earth, I have at least called in at all of them even if I haven't done all the tours.

Each chapter is a brief history of distilling on the island. Buxton provides the background to the distilleries, some of which have been making whisky for 200 years and some of which have not yet made anything that has had time to mature for the three years required for it to be called whisky.

I imagine this book is much more fun for someone like me who has been to virtually all the places discussed than it would be for someone picking it up cold with no knowledge of the islands. I lost count of the times I read passages out loud to my wife to remind her of a particular experience we had on one of our holidays. We go mostly to feed my photography habit (and a lot of images of wildlife and scenery end up on my website and my stalls at craft fairs), but it would, of course, be very rude of me not to take a couple of hours away from that to visit a distillery. It's only a problem on Islay where there are so many distilleries that you can find your whole holiday has disappeared before you get down to the serious birdwatching business that was the main purpose of the trip.

So, for the most part, this is a highly entertaining read. The writing is somewhat breathless. Maybe it's the books I normally read, but I found myself sometimes almost overwhelmed at the pace of this one - there's a lot to pack in and Buxton goes at it at full speed. Interestingly, each chapter takes a bit of a strange diversion to discuss the pen and ink with which the author wrote the original manuscript. This was a surprise to me as I guess I imagine most authors sit in front of a computer nowadays (although I think I remember seeing something on Twitter a while ago where Toby Litt showed his handwritten manuscript, so it would be interesting to know what proportion of authors choose to work longhand like this). Buxton thinks carefully about the right pen and ink combination to reflect the character of the island he is writing about: I imagine that the original manuscript of this book is very colorful to look at. However, the impact of this is of course dramatically reduced when the book is printed: a luxury edition with different coloured inks for each chapter would be interesting but, I imagine, not commercially viable.

It is my humble opinion, after many years of diligent research, that whiskies from the islands are the best whiskies in the world. This is a very enjoyable insight into the world of those whiskies.

3.5 stars rounded up for the memories it stirred. Unfortunately, we've booked to go to Coll & Tiree this year where there is little or no chance of a whisky related experience (unless I can persuade my wife to call in at Oban while we wait for the ferry).

PS It's not unfortunate, really: I can't wait to get there as they look spectacular.

[Michael Nicholson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting guide to the island distilleries of Scotland, but one that took just a few too many detours. When the writer gets into the crux of the topic, he's engaging and informative. However, there are too many asides where the author seems certain of being possessed of a wit that wasn't quite so evident to me. A good book, but one which could have been even better with some tighter editing.

[Connor Pariseau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fun look at Scottish island whiskey. It included Ian's historical knowledge of the area and the distilleries themselves and his own personal experience. It is also a great review of whiskeys in a way that makes you want to drink and enjoy it instead of venerate it and keep it on a shelf.

[Steven Laird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable light reading, except when he starts talking about his pen and ink...

[Emily Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining and fun to read!

[Steven Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun tour of Scotland’s islands their distilleries s with Ian Buxton.

[Luke Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book titled "Whiskies Galore" there sure is an awful lot about gin and fancy pens.

I had high hopes for this book as two out of three of my favorite single malts are distilled in the Hebridean Islands surronding the Scottish mainland. For those interested, that would be Highland Park, Laphroaig, and the exception Glengoyne. For whisky historians, this book is a lot of fun, as many of the stories Buxton relates take place in the late 19th / early 20th century. How relevant or interesting any of those stories are? Well....

I do appreciate Buxton's decision to not belabor the reader with another long list of tasting notes. By the time any such book reaches print / is read usually those notes are out of date. Also, how many of us get a hint of "church pew" on the palate, or the aroma of "brogues after walking through a field of wildflowers" or whatever such overwrought descriptors these "supertasters" notice these days. And though I could take or leave Buxton's writing in this book and in other essays / articles he has contributed to print, I don't doubt his credentials and work within the industry himself.

I think what irks me the most about this book is that Buxton doesn't really have much of a positive thing to say about anything. Or if he does, it is quickly overshadowed by some criticism. For better or worse, the whisky business is changing. I'm all for using your dollar / euro / pound to support what you agree with, not just in whisky, but in all commercial dealings but the fact remains that it's going to take a decade-ish for a new distillery to begin work and then finally get a product out on the shelves. So while Buxton boo-hoos about the exit to the distillery being through the gift shop, it doesn't bother me in the least. I also think he does a half ass job of talking about the Isle of Jura distillery and the whisky made there over the decades. No mention of the whisky produced by the Small Isle Distillery who were making whisky out of a cave?

If you hadn't already guessed, I am an American. Thus for all the acronyms Buxton uses (and doesn't spell out what they are) he does his reader's a disservice. But again, it's really the lack of positivity, or perhaps more the point out of so many negatives (as he perceives them at least) that makes this book a slog to read. I really couldn't care less about how much it costs to stay at the nearby cottages owned by the distilleries and how they furnished or how you think the new packaging is gimmicky. I would of much preferred more dialogue from the distillers, the coopers, the fishermen and barmaids who call these islands home. How the whisky provides a livelihood and plays a part in the lives of the Islanders themselves. But that's just me I suppose. Anyway, I'll give it a VERY generous 3 stars.

[Stoic_quin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An idiosyncratic but involving tour round island distilleries. A nice touch is the pen & ink suggestions .