There are currently nine working distilleries on Islay, with two more planned to open in the next couple of years. The first recorded distillery was Bowmore, founded in 1779; the most recent was Ardnahoe, which was established in 2018. Islay’s distilleries are spread across the island; however, the three on the south coast – Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig – are located next to each other, and are collectively known as the Kildalton Distilleries.
Islay’s history stretches back to around 8000 BC. Its first inhabitants were from the Mesolithic period – numerous tools and implements discovered...
There are currently nine working distilleries on Islay, with two more planned to open in the next couple of years. The first recorded distillery was Bowmore, founded in 1779; the most recent was Ardnahoe, which was established in 2018. Islay’s distilleries are spread across the island; however, the three on the south coast – Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig – are located next to each other, and are collectively known as the Kildalton Distilleries.
Islay’s history stretches back to around 8000 BC. Its first inhabitants were from the Mesolithic period – numerous tools and implements discovered in archaeological digs have confirmed this – but the first major settlers were Celts, drawn from different parts of Europe.
Islay formed part of the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata in the sixth century AD – the 2.7m-high Kildalton Cross erected in 800AD still stands in the south-east of the island – and this situation lasted for 300 years until the arrival of the Vikings, which would change the history of Islay forever. The island remained under Norse rule, defying the Scottish kingdom and leading the independence of the Western Isles from the mainland.
By the mid-12th century, the warrior Somerled rebelled against Islay’s Scandinavian settlers, helping Scotland reclaim the island, although Somerled’s descendants would rule Islay independently as ‘Lords of the Isles’, a state of affairs that lasted for a few hundred years. They based themselves at Loch Finlaggan near Port Askaig; ruins from the settlement are still visible today.
Islay only came under direct Scottish rule from the mid-15th century, after a plot to help the English king conquer Scotland in return for Islay’s independence was rumbled. The Lord of the Isles is now the heir to the Scottish throne. In terms of ownership, the bulk of the island is divided up among five separate estates: Dunlossit and Islay Estate (the two largest landowners), Ardtalla, Foreland and Laggan.
Over the course of the 16th and 17th centuries clan rebellions across Scotland were a common occurrence. Historically, the largest and most important Highland clan were the Campbell’s, whose homelands were based in the region of Argyll. This included ownership of the Isle of Islay, but despite occupying a dominant position of power on mainland Scotland, on Islay the Campbell’s acted largely as absentee lairds. As a result the island failed to prosper for most of this time period.
By the early 18th century, the Cawdor Campbell’s struggled to maintain power over their estates on Islay due to low earnings and famine. A change of island ownership pursued when wealthy business man and politician, Daniel Campbell of Shawfield, became laird. This was to be a welcome change for Islay as the economy began to thrive thanks to the improvement of farming methods and introduction of a textile industry.
ISLAY’S NICKNAME : QUEEN OF THE HEBRIDES
The next generation continued to modernise the island with the construction of the village of Bowmore, the development of roads, a fishing industry, the provision of schools and the promotion of the church. Islay’s first whisky distillery was established during this time period: Bowmore, built in 1779. Previously, illegal distillation had been popular among croft settlements due to heavy spirits taxation. It therefore came as no surprise that the island was well equipped for the future development of a commercial whisky industry which was to follow in the early 19th century.
https://islay.com/about-islay/history-of-islay/
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