Distilleries back music and malt

DISTILLERIES on the Hebridean islands of Islay and Jura opened their doors to malt whisky fans last week as part of the annual Feis Isle festival.

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The Islay festival of music and malt, which was started by a group of locals in 1986, includes concerts, ceilidhs and distillery tours.
This year’s event, which took place between May 21 and 29, featured tours of Islay’s Lagavulin, Bruichladdich, Caol Ila, Laphroaig, and Bowmore distilleries, as well as the Islay Ales Brewery.
The Jura distillery also took part, welcoming around 150 visitors, before festival-goers headed back to Islay for events at the Bunnahabhain and Ardbeg distilleries. “This is the tenth year we’ve been bringing whisky fans over to our beautiful island, and this year promises to be bigger and better than any of our previous festivals,” said Jura distillery manager Willie Cochrane ahead of the event. “We’ve got a packed programme of activity taking place and, more importantly, some wonderful whiskies to savour – all set against the glorious backdrop of Jura.”