Category Archives: Whisky and Writing

Thoughts on whisky and writing. Stories of distilleries and the people behind them. Musings on how whisky is a metaphor for the larger picture of life.

Caol Ila Is Islay’s Big Little Secret

Let me get this out of the way: Caol Ila has the best location for a distillery I’ve ever seen.  Are there others I’ve yet to see that could be better? Perhaps.  If something can top Caol Ila, I look … Continue reading

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Getting Your Fill at Lagavulin

A year ago, in my life as a media strategist, I sometimes would have so much going on that I’d have up to ten meetings a day scheduled.  I’d be a slave to my schedule, running from location to location, … Continue reading

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An Island Friend to the World

As I talk with John, I hear the sea crashing against the rocks of Laphroaig’s oceanside doorstep. I realize that from these shores a whisky was launched nearly 200-years-ago that still makes huge waves around the world. Continue reading

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The Kindness of Strangers

I’m writing from the Port Mor community center just south of Port Charlotte, Islay.  The sun is cutting through low clouds to deepen the blue color of Loch Indaal, the grass is green, and the center is filled with local … Continue reading

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A Warehouse of Knowledge

Friday night at the Ballygrant Inn can be a big night here on Islay.  I recently stepped out to join the locals at a fun “Quiz Night” trivia contest, thanks to the invitation of Adam and Grant from the Bruichladdich … Continue reading

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The Language of Whisky

With no Internet access at my Islay cottage, I rely on the WiFi at the Lochside Inn in Bowmore or at the house of my friend Martine Nouet. Martine, as you may know, is a fantastic writer of all things … Continue reading

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Love Still Rules

Whisky making is really the marriage of water, grain and yeast.  Once wed, they never part.  With such romantic pairings in the whisky, it’s no wonder that charming a charming German couple chose the Bruichladdich Distillery Still House to take … Continue reading

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A Cure for Your Ales

There is more than just whisky on Islay, and that’s a good thing.  Last week, I took a stroll down a tree-lined lane to an unassuming courtyard.  The courtyard contains the renovated buildings from an estate’s farm.  Today, it houses … Continue reading

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Ardbeg’s Long Road to Renaissance

Ardbeg Distillery sits at the end of a two-lane highway that shrinks to a single-track road.  Those willing to continue on that road find it to be narrow and bumpy with steep hills, blind turns and an otherworldly landscape.  It’s … Continue reading

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A Taste of Islay

Forgive the delay in my latest post.  I am back to intermittent Internet access and can’t update as frequently as I’d like.  One of the blessings/curses of being where I am on the island.  It’s secluded and beautiful, but not … Continue reading

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