Many whisky enthusiasts probably have heard about Alfred Barnard who made a journey around Scotland, Ireland and England in the late 1800s and visited every whisky distillery. After his remarkable journey he also published a wonderful account of his travels in his book titled "The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom". Alfred Barnard visited nine Islay Distilleries as well and the written reports of each of those visits can be found on the Islay Info website. The distilleries he visited back then are Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Port Ellen, Bowmore, Lochindaal, Bruichladdich, Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain.

Alfred Barnard's journey was fascinating and it's no wonder that people nowadays try to make a similar journey altough a number of distilleries no longer exist. Today I found a blog titled Whisky Story by someone called Dougie. This person is following the footsteps of Alfred Barnard and this is what he wrote in his first post "I have been enjoying malt whisky since the mid 90s and my interest really took off after joining Edinburgh University Water of Life Society (EUWOLS) in 2005. After serving as Treasurer and then Vice-President of the society, and after visiting around 20 distilleries in that time, I decided to take time out to visit them all and expand my knowledge of the industry and its history. This blog will record my journey in Barnard’s footsteps." Dougie continues with the words: "I have taken on a project far larger, more complex, and utterly fascinating than I had ever imagined. I may need a dram or two to help me get through this!" All I can advice to the readers is that you take a dram or two yourselves and start reading Dougies fascinating blog. He hasn't completed his travels yet but already he has visited many distilleries and sites of lost distilleries. He has also arrived on Islay and wrote a couple of highly interesting blog posts so far. I'm sure this is a blog to follow because there will be a lot more interesting stories about Dougies (Islay) distillery visits. Enjoy reading!

Tag: barnard whisky distilleries history