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We all know and love Islay and its eight distilleries. But look around – Islay is only one of Scotland’s distilling islands and a quick look at the gazetteer reveals another eight distilleries on seven islands, all with their own distinctive identities.

They have a varied heritage, some old, some very new. Both Tobermory on Mull and Orkney’s Highland Park date back to 1798, whereas newcomers such as the Isle of Harris distillery have opened in the past 12 months. But let’s start with the only distillery on Arran, an island in the Clyde long a favourite of Glasgow holidaymakers.

The distillery at Lochranza in the north of the island recently celebrated its 21st birthday with the release of its first 18-year-old whisky. Like many small independent ventures it has experienced a number of difficulties with financing but today appears in robust health. In fact, the distillery will shortly shut down to permit an expansion – a £1.1m investment will see new stills installed and production rise from around 750,000 litres annually to more than 1.2m litres.

If that was not evidence enough of success then the news that the company has just begun construction on a second distillery, due to open in August 2018, should be conclusive. Having been unable to secure sufficient land for further building at Lochranza, the new distillery is at Lagg, at the island’s southern end where Arran’s last legal distillery worked until 1837.

Since opening, Arran has become the island’s most visited tourist attraction, with a remarkable 88,000 visitors arriving last year to sample the distillery’s 10, 14 and 18-year-old core products as well as one-off expressions and distillery-only bottlings.

The Arran malts are generally sweet and warming, with some well-balanced but gentle smoky notes. Lovers of more pronounced peat smoke-influenced whiskies will find the Machrie Moor expressions to be their favourite.

Our travels take us next to Islay, if only to take the short ferry trip to Jura.

The Jura distillery at Craighouse, the island’s centre, can trace its origins to 1810 but was closed in the 1920s. Distilling restarted in a new distillery in 1963, with further major expansion in 1977. For years the output was destined largely for blending and accordingly produced in a relatively mild-mannered style. Since the late 1990s, however, when a substantial proportion of the stock was re-racked (a 10-year rolling programme involving some 27,000 casks) the quality of the single malt has improved dramatically.

SEVEN-DAY WEEK

Today owner Whyte & Mackay is part of Emperador Inc of the Philippines, a globally significant brandy producer, and the distillery is currently working a seven-day week with all the planned 2.4m litres of spirit now reserved for sale as single malt – a marked change from the distillery’s early days. There are a number of expressions available. If familiar with the 10-year-old then try either Superstition, non-aged but carrying more peat weight, or the rich and full-bodied 16-year-old Diurachs’ Own.

Back to the mainland and on to Oban. From there, yet another ferry takes us to Mull and the Tobermory distillery, a venerable venture with a chequered history of on and off operations. As the name suggests, the distillery is in Tobermory, a pretty harbour-side town. The building dates back to 1798 and, though the only warehouse was converted years ago into apartments, distilling still takes place on the original site.

This is a relatively small and unheralded distillery, making around 750,000-850,000 litres annually, against a potential 1m litres, but apart from a modest amount used in the Black Bottle blend, all the production is reserved for single malts. There are two styles – the unpeated Tobermory and Ledaig, which uses Port Ellen malt peated to 39ppm of phenols.

Now owned by Burn Stewart Distillers, Tobermory has announced a two-year closure to refurbish the distillery, though supplies of Tobermory and Ledaig will remain available over that time. I would anticipate greater focus on the single malt brands once production resumes.

Back on the mainland, from where it is possible to drive over the sea to Skye on the controversial but very convenient 1995 Skye Bridge.

FARMHOUSE OPERATION

Currently, Skye is home to Diageo’s mighty Talisker and the long-awaited but tiny Torabhaig Distillery. This £5m project from Mossburn Distillers will eventually make around 500,000 litres from a traditional farmhouse operation in an old farm steading. However, no releases are expected for at least five years as the project is fully funded until mature whisky is available.

But the major distillery on Skye is, of course, Talisker, somewhat to the north of Torabhaig. Once, unusually for scotch, triple-distilled, today the distillery runs along quite traditional lines. It still uses wooden worm tubs and a high degree of reflux from the stills. Also traditionally, and commendably, Talisker is bottled at the higher strength of 45.8%.

Of the various releases I’d recommend the ‘standard’ 10-year-old as an introduction to Talisker, then you can move on to the 18-year-old, the non-aged Storm variant, one of the many limited releases or the excellent Port Ruighe, finished in a port wine cask.

Just off Skye on the tiny island of Raasay, construction of a new distillery for R&B Distillers is well advanced and spirit is expected to run shortly. The Victorian Borodale House will then be restored and renovated to serve as the distillery visitors’ centre.

From the very north of Skye a four-hour ferry trip takes us to Harris and Lewis. Physically they are one land mass, actually the third largest in the UK after Great Britain and the island of Ireland, but always referred to as two separate islands. Please don’t ask me why.

There are now two distilleries operating here. Abhainn Dearg (pronounced Aveen Jarræk), or Red River in English, is in Uig on Lewis. The tiny distillery was founded by Mark Tayburn, whose vision led to the first legal whisky distillery in the Outer Hebrides in almost 200 years.

Established in 2008, the first spirit to leave the island was in 2010 when two small casks of new spirit were sold to Germany and in the UK. The first Abhainn Dearg Single Malt was released in 2011, a three-year-old special release. However, no further bottling will be available until 2018 when the first spirit laid down will be a mature 10-year-old single malt whisky.

Being located on the extreme west coast of Lewis, the Red River distillery is remote even by Hebridean standards. Rather more convenient for the visitor is the newly-opened Isle of Harris distillery in the main port of Tarbert.

Led by ex-Glenmorangie sales & marketing director Simon Erlanger, this is a £10m plus project that aims to produce The Hearach, a single malt distilled, matured and bottled on the island. Additionally, the distillery already produces Isle of Harris gin. Intended primarily for sale to visitors such has been the response that it is now more widely available and winning many fans.

The Hearach will be some time yet but if you are interested, a subscription to the 1916 Club will secure one of the initial bottles of the first release, inaugural filling of this island single malt, together with other benefits, expected sometime in 2019.

Our final stop is Orkney to the north of John O’Groats, though on the even further-flung Shetland islands former Glenglassaugh MD Stewart Nickerson is distilling Shetland Reel gin at Saxa Vord with plans to install whisky stills and produce Shetland’s first-ever single malt.

CONTINUITY

Fortunately Orkney is very well served by Scapa and the better-known Highland Park, both controlled by industry giants – Chivas Brothers and Highland Distillers respectively.

Scapa opened in 1885 but was operated only intermittently up until the Chivas takeover. It has since benefitted from greater continuity and better marketing, including the April 2015 opening of the distillery’s first ever visitor centre. 
However, stocks remain tight and the current expression, Skiren, is non-aged despite Chivas’ repeated assertion that Age Matters. Rumours are that there will soon be a ‘new’ 14-year-old, replacing the current 16-year-old, to be followed by a 25-year-old. That would indeed be welcome news.

However, the dominant force in Orkney distilling must be Highland Park. With its extensive range, sophisticated visitor operation, traditional floor maltings and the marketing muscle of Highland Distillers behind it (don’t underestimate the impact of having The Macallan as a stablemate) Highland Park is an international power brand, notching up growing sales and an enviable number of awards.

Finally the briefest of words on the proposed Barra distillery. First announced in November 2005 progress appears painfully slow, reminding us that island life is not all plain sailing. So salute the pioneers of Arran, Jura, Mull, Skye, Lewis, Harris and Orkney and raise a glass to those Scottish island distilleries not on Islay.