Thursday, 7 August 2008

A Wee Dram Before The Misty Isle

Our first stop today as we continued to head north to the Isle of Skye was Oban Distillery in Oban (on the coast of Loch Linnie). They taught us about the malting, mashing and distilling process to make scotch whisky. It was neat to learn that alcohol is created by collecting the vapours from boiling of the mash (into 8% alcohol) and mixing the vapours back with water, which strengthens the content of the spirit (to 25%), but not quite to the 70% that they want so they re-distill it to make it to the strength needed. The smell within the distilling room was so thick in alcohol I felt like I was getting drunk just standing there! They they let us try some 56% proof right out of the cask/barrel and man was that straight up the nose in strength! We then went to the tasting bar and tried a wee dram of their 14 year single malt whiskey that they are famous for, that has notes of smokiness, (from the peat smoke) sea salt (from where they don’t know), orange peel (from the copper distillery drums) and honey finish (from the cask aging). I actually quite liked the scotch as it was not that peaty at all. I may become a scotch drinker yet!
We came upon (okay we looked for it as I saw it in my guidebook) a cool castle on a solitary island called Stalker Castle. We took a picture for posterity, but wish that it was sunset as it would make a fab shot!
Before we went to Skye we passed Scotland’s Big Ben – Ben Nevis of course! Its the highest mountain in the UK and is quite impressive.
We took the 20 minute ferry across to the Isle of Skye. It used to be the only way to get there, but now there is a long bridge that most people use (and is free!) We crossed the bright sunny ocean towards hills of brown and green. The landscapes were quite barren of forests/vegetation. The island was as hilly and barren as loch lomond was foresty and lakey.

The Island of Skye, situated off the West coast of Mainland Scotland, is the largest and best known of the Inner Hebrides. Sometimes referred to in Gaelic poetry and song as Eilean a' CheĆ² (The Misty Isle), Skye is renown for its natural beauty, history and wildlife. Oh, and did I mention the mists? Yeah, they just flowed across all the hills on our first day there - sooo cool!
We stopped in a port town called Portree (also the capital town of Skye) where we had a stroll and tried the local isle of skye brewery beer. When we entered the town there were mists everywhere, but after we finished our beer, the sun had won the battle against the mist and the mist blew away. It was very strange, but soooo neat! They don’t call this the isle of mists for nothing! The picture below is what all of the portree postcards looked like. ;o)
Syd and I attempted 3 of the 6 Skye brewery beers – a red ale called red cuilan (after the name of the mountains on skye – though dad thought this tasted bland), an oatmeal stout called black cuilan (the kind of beer that puts hair on your chest – Syd didn’t like this one), and a light ale that we all liked called the young pretender (named after bonny prince charlie who was pretender to the throne of Scotland, and grandson of James II who was dethroned during the Tudor period).
Uig (pronounced ewe-eeg)– small intimate (and rustic) hostel at the tip of the island of Skye overlooking a fishing village and bay (which we reckon is just like Newfoundland) – it felt like the tip of the world. ;o) We went down to the pier for fish and chips that night and then watched a shrimping boat dock and bring in the loads of large fresh pawns.
Later that night, Syd and I sat at a picnic table after the sun went down at 11 pm (yes, 11!) and enjoyed the still night air, cool Scottish breeze, and the calm over the waters of the lit pier. It was Scotland at its finest.

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