Luxury Guide

Glasgow is a beautiful and easy-to-navigate city; the people are very warm and there is a wonderful array of both shopping and entertainment choices.

To anyone who is a whisky fan, the small island of Islay will jump off the page as a very special place to sample the spirit, learn about the distillery process and experience a unique place.

Even if you do not take a particular interest in Scotch, you most certainly will after taking a trip like this.

A stay at Mar Hall begins the journey, situated about a 15-minute train ride from Glasgow. Refurbished and opened in 2004, this hotel was originally built as a home for the Earl of Mar in the 19th century.
See the Hotel Profile for Mar Hall

Overlooking River Clyde on a 5-star golf course, Mar Hall is a picture-perfect place to begin a trip to this part of Scotland.
See the Hotel Profile for Mar Hall

The next day we depart for Islay. Islay, a very short plane ride away, is a world that operates at a different pace of life: there are no traffic lights and sheep roam free.

During our tour of the Island, we encounter Bowmore's water source. River Laggan has a distinct peaty flavor due to the immense amount of peat on Islay.

While the production process whisky begins in the malt barn, as we will see on our tour of Bowmore, peat cutting is truly where it all begins. Here you see Ginger, a professional peat cutter, who harvests the peat from nearby bogs that will be used later to infuse barley, giving Bowmore Single Malt it's distinct flavor.

Touring the distillery, you will discover the process from start to aging. Be sure to take the Craftsman's Tour for the full experience, and have the privilege of visiting the No. 1 Vaults.

The people that work at Bowmore take a great pride in what they do and are among the few that still take the time to floor malt their barley - a painstaking process that requires a Maltman to toss the grain by hand with a traditional wooden malt shovel, every four hours.

Barley that has germinated to the desired stage has tiny off-shoots just around a quarter of the size of the grain.

Once the barley has reached the desired germination, the process is halted by infusing it with hot air and peat smoke; this step imparts the smokey and peaty flavor that Bowmore is known for.

Next, the barley is ground and mixed with water that absorbs all of the sugar present. The liquid is then extracted and the result is called wort.

The wort is then transferred to wash backs where it begins fermentation upon the addition of yeast. This process takes about three days.

After fermentation, the wort, now called wash, is moved to the final stage of the process - distillation. Once the wash is placed inside the stills, the temperature is raised to cause the alcohol to become vapor. This vapor rises to the top of the still, where it is then rapidly cooled, returning to liquid form in a separate vat.

After being distilled twice, the "new-make" spirit is then placed in ex-bourbon or ex-sherry casks made of American or Spanish oak, creating different expressions. The casks then rest in the famed no. 1 Vaults. The casks pictured here with the large emblems are the property of none other than the Queen.

Here in the no. 1 Vaults, casks are kept just below sea level to age, where the flavors of seaweed and salt are infused with the whisky.

Distillery Manager, Eddie McAffer is seen sampling from the cask here, something done on a regular basis to check the progress of the spirit. I was privileged enough to sample this particular sample myself.

Winner of a whole host of awards, Islay's Bowmore has been the recipient of Distillery of the Year multiple times, and various expressions have also been recognized with Double Gold Awards at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Most recently the Bowmore 18 was awarded Best in Show Whisky.

Video: Hear about Bowmore 18 from Senior Blender Iain McCallum

The visitor's center at Bowmore offers tasting rooms that overlook Loch Indaal.

Staying at the Bowmore Cottages is a perfect idea. While the rooms in each of the cottages are different throughout, mine boasted vaulted ceilings, several large windows that looked out onto a charming garden, a large four-poster bed... and fast WIFI, a welcome amenity you may not expect in such a charmingly rustic location.

The Bowmore Cottages feature kitchens and comfortable common areas of various sizes to accommodate groups from 2-12.

Just behind the cottages, a charming garden overlooks the loch.

Outside your front door is the main street of Bowmore. The town of Bowmore was founded in 1768. Bowmore Distillery opened in 1779, making it the oldest distillery on Islay and the second in all of Scotland.

Built in 1767, one year prior to Bowmore itself, Kilarrow Parish Church (or Round Church as it is well known), was constructed in this shape to ensure that the devil had nowhere to hide. The structure also houses a gallery that was added in 1830.

Quaint shops on Islay offer locally made goods like soaps, clothing, souvenirs and, of course, whiskies.

Seafood in this region is wonderful, particularly the langoustines & oysters. This spread was served to us at the Jura Hotel, a quick boat ride from Islay.

Another place of interest on the island, the Islay Woolen Mill, is where Chanel actually sources their tweed; their designs have been featured in Braveheart and Forrest Gump.

Established back in 1883, the family of people that runs this mill takes great pride in what they do; they do it the way it has always been done.

This tiny, old and picturesque mill produces only 20 yards of fabric per day on nearly original machinery.

Being back in Glasgow, Hotel du Vin One Devonshire Gardens is truly one of the most beautiful properties in the city's West End, plus the location is perfect for exploring the area.
See the Hotel Profile for Hotel du Vin One Devonshire

Just a little ways from Hotel du Vin, is the Auchentoshan Distillery. Much like the cities they reside in, the award-winning Auchentoshan Distillery has a bit more of a modern feel in contrast to Bowmore, despite the fact that it was built in 1823.

This is appropriate as the spirit itself has a more contemporary style. Like the tour at Bowmore, we saw the production process from start to finish.

There are a couple of main points that distinguish Auchentoshan from other whiskies. I have already mentioned the modern flair, the second is the fact that it is the only Scotch that is triple distilled. Another special quality of the distillery? They produce a unique expression called Three Wood, that has been aged in American bourbon, Spanish Oloroso Sherry & Pedro Ximenez Sherry Casks.

For an extra special experience, you can even bottle your very own Single Malt straight from the cask.

After many years of aging, spirits from both Auchentoshan and Bowmore, by now officially bestowed the title of Scotch, are sent to the Morrison Bowmore bottling plant where it is taken under the wing of Senior Blender Iain McCallum.

To be a Senior Blender you must possess not only a seasoned palate, but a talent for tasting as well. Iain blends together matured spirits from different casks to create consistent flavors that we all know and love.

During our time at the bottling plant, Iain educated us on the palate and the way that our senses react the complex flavors in whisky.

After learning about the different expressions of Auchentoshan and Bowmore, we had the privilege of sampling several, including some that are yet to be available to the public and the highly coveted White and Gold Bowmore.

While in Glasgow, you will discover plenty of entertainment options for any time of day, including shopping, cultural attractions like Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum as well as an assortment of nightlife and dining choices. Recommendations? Crabshakk served up some very tasty seafood dishes and both Lebowski’s and Blue Dog offered great cocktails.

Journeying to Scotland was an experience filled with both old and new. Old associations of plaid, green hills and bagpipes have certainly have faded into small details of a much bigger picture. This experience is painted with memorable conversations, vivid memories and a refreshing revelation of what Scotland is truly like. So go and discover it yourself, I would wager you will want to visit more than once.

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