by Jay Erisman, EQ Wine and Spirits Manager

Along with being my favorite place to be shipwrecked, the Scottish island of Islay holds eight working single malt Scotch distilleries. While such smoky, peaty monsters as Lagavulin and Laphroaig are enormously popular, there is another Islay (pronounced EYE luh) distillery that has utterly captured the hearts of whisky lovers worldwide. This is Bruichladdich, the only independent distillery on Islay, owned and operated largely by natives of the island (who are Ileachs). I spent time with Bruichladdich Master Distiller Jim McEwan at several events in late October—including a smashing tasting for EQ@The Party Source—and got the low-down on Bruichladdich, and the fearlessly creative distiller at its helm.

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