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I have just read an article on Grough about Isle of Skye Whisky continuing to support Mountain Rescue in Scotland. Great! .... and I would really like to support it by buying a bottle. But I can't find it in any of the big sheds in Stirling. Can anyone tell me where you can get it please.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe: If you do a search for Isle of Skye Whisky for their official web page they are doing a free delivery You can also get it through Amazon. I don't know of retail shops.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe: p s Just checked their web page You should be able to get it at Tesco. Asda and coop as well as on line.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

I thought that Talisker was the only distillery on Skye?
Maybe I'm wrong

In reply to Kimono:

Correct about Talisker.

Isle of Skye whisky is a blended whisky containing whiskies from Speyside and the Island, so presumably contains a good proportion of Talisker in the mix.

It's a very good whisky for the price.

In reply to rubisco:

is that the MacLeod's Isle of Skye?

In reply to joan cooper:

Thanks Joan - just ordered one. It was not in our local Tesco store and there is no Asda in Stirling. Might try the Coop though - thanks.

In reply to rubisco:
A chance visit the the Talisker Distillery on a very wet & windy day on Skye got me interested in malts. Talisker remains a favourite. Look forward to trying the Isle of Skye whisky - one of my other favourite drinks is Baillie Nichol Jarvie - also a blend but very good nonetheless.

In reply to Kimono:

A new distillery is being built at Knock Bay on Sleat in the far south of the island as the fulfilment of a long-held dream of the the late Sir Iain Noble, owner of much of the isle, who passed away not long ago. The manager of the new project is none other than Scottish rugby legend Findlay Calder. I hope it's a huge success. I guess we have to wait 12 years to find out.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

If you want to support MRT in Scotland - why not donate to the specific team. Only 15p per bottle is being donated from this offer! Theyd need to sell 200000 bottles to provide enough to fund a small team for a year!

In reply to jepotherepo:
A point well made - I do contribute to rescue team boxes in places I find them and also recently to a specific team where there is a connection. If I can replace a whisky that doesn't give anything to MRT with one that does & it tastes good then I'll do it. Just want to taste it to find out. I don't think I could drink that much incidentally - its over 500 a day.

In reply to BnB:


And another new distillery being built not far across the water from Skye at tarbert on Harris I spotted on my cycling trip.
http://www.harrisdistillery.com/

My mate and I went to Talisker on Skye on rememberence day, he did the tour and said it was brilliant ( and I think he said 'Storm' was his favourite- I'm not sure I don't drink myself so paid little attention to the detail)
( I went instead and looked out over the Cuillins from the War memorial at Carbost on a fantastic day.
As was mentioned , a WET windy day is best to visit distilleries.

In reply to Jim C:

Talksker is an excellent tour. We've done it twice.

Talking of war memorials, Skye has some lovely graveyards and memorials dotted all over the island. Very soothing soulful spots that speak of the connection between the people and the land. It would make a good tour for those who like that sort of thing.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:
Success! It seems Tesco have restocked and I got a bottle today - not bad at all - OK its not a single malt but it contains only malts so it is much smoother than the popular grain blends. A toast! - here's to the MRTs.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

>but it contains only malts so it is much smoother than the popular grain blends. A toast! - here's to the MRTs.


Are you sure? The brand website states that its a "blend of the finest malt and grain whiskies".

In reply to thebigfriendlymoose:
Thanks for the comment - Interesting - the bottle says " a smooth & mellow blend of distinctive Island and Speyside malts which have been matured for 8 long years in oak casks" - is this marketting speak that is not telling us the whole story? Nevertheless it still tastes good though it is not up to the Talisker standard. I also looked longingly at the Ardbeg in Tescos but £40 is too much.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

If it calls itself a "blended scotch" it will contain grain whisky (in addition to the blended malts). The term for a whisky that contains a variety of malts but no grain spirit is a "blended malt whisky" or "blended malt scotch whisky" - they used to be called "vatted malts" but the rules changed.

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

I'm guessing its a Diageo whiskey.

My brother works for Diageo and apart from working in Whisky valley ,works on Skye From time to time.

Not sure if Talisker and Ardbeg are Diageo owned distilleries.

In reply to thebigfriendlymoose:
Thanks for this - it seems the exact wording is important. What do you know of one of my other favourite whiskies Baillie Nichol Jarvie? I understood it to be a blend of pure malts - is that not the case?
Edit: Just looked it up - it is indeed a blend of malt & grain whiskies - but still very palatable.
Is there a good example of a 'blended malt whisky' you could recommend?

In reply to andymac:

It's made by Ian MacLeod Distillers - they are a family owned independent (own Glengoyne and Tamdhu)

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

BNJ is another blended scotch i.e. contains grain (although the malt quotient is reportedly around 40%, which is higher than the norm):

http://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/bailie-nicol-jarvie-blended-whisky/

"Pure" malts that are fairly widespread are Monkey Shoulder, Johnie Walker Green Label, some of the Compass Box range (Oak Cross, Spice Tree, Peat Monster), and Big Peat (a blend of Islays).

In reply to thebigfriendlymoose:

Thanks for this - lots to try. I used to get my BNJ from Morrisons but they have discontinued it - does anyone know if there is a retailer that still sells it?

In reply to keith-ratcliffe:

Booths and Waitrose sell BNJ. Although personally, in these days of supermarket discounting, I don't see much cause to drink blends for economic reasons. A bit of shopping around and you can nearly always find a decent single malt for a comparable price (last weekend I picked up some Aberlour 12yo NCF for £26, reduced from £52!). I realise that some blends are of high quality (rather partial to the Japanese Hibiki and Nikka blends, and Black Bush is quite nice) but those are as expensive as a decent single malt anyway.

In reply to Jim C:

The Isle of Skye Brewery is planning to build a decent sized visitor centre. Indoor facilities are in short supply on Skye so wishing them well. http://skyeale.com/news/reach-for-the-skye/

Oh great. Another reason for Skye snobbery...☺

In reply to andymac:


Talisker is. It's one of the main 'ingredients' in JW Black and you can taste it on it quite clearly. Ardbeg on the other hand is part of the Glenmorangie mini-emporium

In reply to thebigfriendlymoose:


Not strictly speaking. A vatted malt is (was) a blend which has then sat in a barrel to marry together, sometimes an interesting barrel so it gets some bonus finishing. Not all blends are (as far as I'm aware) vatted.

In reply to victim of mathematics:

The definitions I was using are those defined by the Scotch Whisky Association (the regulatory body for these matters).

http://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/understanding-scotch/scotch-whisky-categori...

The term blended malt replaced vatted malt - which was a matter of some consternation at the time

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1584724/Whisky-industry-split-over-b...

I don't think that all vatted malts (when the term was used), got finishing in a barrel - I think most (but not all) were just married for a short time in a big steel tank - though I admit to not being an expert in this area.

In reply to BnB:


I agree, I have spent many a happy day ( and even the occasional night) in graveyards.
( doing my family history research)
The tour of the Glasgow Necropolis, is a grand day out too.