Scotland Road Trip 2018 - Day Two (The Road to Islay)
Our first day in Scotland, other than an hour or two spent napping, ended up being a blast. The second day had its mix of ups and downs and a fair share of stress as I learned how tough it could be to drive on Scottish roads (while stressing out my wife -- don't ask her about her passenger experience on that first day!). However, the prize at the end of the day -- reaching Islay -- was well worth it all!
Had to get a quick snap of the Grand Central's famed champagne bar before we left
Glasgow to Loch Lomond National Park
Surprisingly, the left-side/right-side divide on driving is not the trickiest part of driving in Scotland. The hardest part is that many of the roads are incredibly narrow. Adjusting to that, along with the fact that oncoming traffic looked like it was coming straight at me in the driver's side cabin, was a big change from driving in the US, where we're used to much wider, multi-lane roads (and, as a Midwesterner, I'm used to driving on roads where I have a lot of space). This got particularly hair-raising when massive 18-wheelers or large coach-buses would be coming toward me, just barely inside or slightly hanging over the median line. It was both a help and a hindrance that our car, a free upgrade to an SUV (which in retrospect I maybe should have turned down for a compact), beeped frantically whenever it sensed that I was approaching the lane lines on either side of the car. Driving in Scotland had a Pavlovian effect on me; whenever I'd see a big car coming at me, I'd instinctively veer away and get chastised by a high-pitched urgent beep. I'm still cringing when I hear something similar.
We stopped shortly outside Glasgow to walk around Loch Lomond, one of the largest lochs in Scotland and a popular holiday destination. The weather that Friday, and really for almost the entirety of our trip, was eerily perfect: low 70s and sunny, yet cool in the shade. The walk inside the park to Balloch Castle was picturesque, almost comically so. Along the way we saw a dog who had the a quirky but charming mannerism. He was walking with a stick in his mouth several paces ahead of his owner, who was pushing a stroller along. He would repeat a pattern where he ran ahead about 100 yards and then dropped the stick, as if putting down a guidepost for his owner. When he saw his owner get within 10 yards, he would pick it up and run off ahead again, as if showing him the way. Definitely earning his #gooddog tag on Instagram that day.
A brilliant miniature artwork, refashioning the stump of a dead tree into a small house. Other sculptures we saw included acorns and mushrooms.
They really don't adequately convey in travel articles how gorgeous Scotland can be on a late spring day!
Kennacraig Ferry
We caught the 6:00 pm Kennacraig ferry to Islay, roughly a two-hour boat journey from the mainland to Port Askaig. I realize this is going to make me sound like a biased booster for Scotland, but even the ferry was really nice. It felt almost more like a cruise ship in some ways, with nice furnishings and decoration inside, and an a la carte cafeteria that made delicious mac & cheese and (we discovered on our return leg) fish & chips. I guess I was expecting something dingy like the Staten Island ferry, which is basically the subway on the sea. That was not what we got, much to our surprise and delight.
Islay at Last!
We stayed for our four nights on Islay at the Stonefield B&B, a small guesthouse run by a wonderful host, Vivian. I don't often write reviews on Tripadvisor, but it's a testament to the hospitality that I posted a long rave for her there. The B&B is in an idyllic setting, surrounded by small cow and sheep farms, where you can see the livestock grazing from dawn until dusk. The coast and a large swath of Loch Indaal, the sea inlet that carves through the middle of Islay, were visible from our room. Those views, combined with Vivian's friendliness and great breakfast every day, made for a divine stay.
After dropping our stuff off at the B&B, we drove 5 minutes down the road to Islay House Hotel, where the Scotch Malt Whisky Society was hosting a Feis Ile welcome party. Unfortunately, the party had started much earlier in the day (I'm talking something like 1 pm), and it was wrapping up early when we arrived because everyone was being chased off by midges! We would come to rue the midges of Scotland ourselves as the trip went on.
We instead detoured to the hotel bar, well-known for its impressive stock of Islay whiskies. It did not disappoint.
Lagavulin Feis Ile 2017 (55.8% ABV) - We met one of the people who works at Lagavulin while at the bar, and accepted his recommendation to try the previous year's Feis Ile expression. It's a 16-year old whisky, finished in Moscatel casks, which is a unique finish not otherwise found in any other Lagavulin expressions. Diageo's no stranger to Moscatel casks, however, as they're the final finishing stage of Caol Ila Distillers Edition. The differences between this one and the standard 16-year old are subtle. The nose is brinier and more acidic undoubtedly, recalling tart fruits like lemon that I more often associate with Ardbeg. This is a quality dram, but it also costs 3 times the price of the 16, which is the best value in scotch. B+
Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured (50%) - Wow. This is quite something. It reminded me instantly of Ardbeg Dark Cove, an equally complex combination of sweet, dark fruits (plums), savory meats (ham, or bacon), salt, spice, and smoke. At the end, right on the swallow, an unexpected flourish of ripe raspberries overtook my palate. This dram outshined both the Lagavulin Feis Ile 2017 and an SMWS Laphroaig special release for Feis Ile 2017, a 21-year old single cask, both of which we tried on the same night. So, yeah, Kilchoman did something right here. I'm sad to see that it's already become hard to find online, where it got snapped up even at a suggested retail price of around $125. A
Caol Ila Moch (43%) - Our new Lagavulin friend had a few drams of this expression from sister distillery Caol Ila, so we had to try it as well. It’s a more Lagavulin-like Caol Ila, so I can see why some will like it and some will be put off. The nose is very dry, mainly featuring a vegetal, dried-mushroom peat. The palate has more classic Caol Ila vanilla and citrus sweetness, and very little smoke. The smoke shows up on the finish. Some speculate that this whisky will replace the age-stated Caol Ila 12 over time as stocks dwindle and demand rises. I hope not, as the 12-year old expression is more distinctive and balanced, and with a much sweeter and more unique nose among Islay whiskies. B-
SMWS 29.211, "Jazzy jousting hastlitude" (51.6%) - We ended the evening by trying another expression released in celebration of last year's
Feis Ile, a 21-year old single cask Laphroaig. This is more of the classic, well-aged Laphroaig, featuring all the classic notes of rich, vegetal smoke, medicinal iodine, sea salt, and butterscotch and tropical fruit sweetness. This expression spent 20 years in ex-bourbon wood and the final year in a PX sherry cask, and I have to attribute that intense, rich sweetness to its finishing school. The most distinctive note in the long finish is a bitter, arugula-like note that brings some fresh, crisp zest to the conclusion. A-
