'FEIS ILE' THE ISLAY WHISKY FESTIVAL - 2001 or 'WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLLS again...' Some images from the Second Islay Whisky Festival, You should look at last year's pages before viewing these, then they might make more sense. Maybe not.... ( MORE ON PAGE TWO..... ) As the festival is one of music and whisky; throughout the week the tables are cleared away for some entertainment. Friday features the Peat Bog Fairies, Saturday has an opening concert and Sunday boasts the Clootie Dumpling Ceilidh - Dumplings courtesy of Bridgend Womens Rural Institute. If you don't know what I'm talking about - forget it! MONDAY PORT ELLEN The Whisky Festival starts with a day at Port Ellen maltings which is not normally open to tours. On Monday they had a full house of100 visitors to see this fascinating complex. You'll note the good weather as always on Islay. The maltings tower over the old, closed Port Ellen Distillery, an unhappy sight. Our guide was Production Manager John Thomson. His knowledge, wit and enthusiasm was very evident. He told us about the Concordat in which all the distilleries on the island have agreed to buy malt from the plant in order to ensure it's survival. These days they are busy as a result. John had us clambering about all over the place. And doing some of the work. Here's something you don't see at a distillery. The tour finished with a treat of peat-barbecued roe deer, a visit to the control room to nose samples of various peated whiskies and also a couple of drams. As with last year the Monday evening is given to a nosing competition in Port Ellen, this time much better attended - I'd say about 300 noses. To make it harder we had to identify the eight proprietary drams from the islands (Jura included) plus name two samples of new make spirit. Despite this teaser five people (all continentals - again) managed to got nine out of ten. This lady won The Most Prestigious Prize for travelling the greatest distance, from New Zealand. After the competition, the tables are cleared away for a ceilidh. TUESDAY Bruichladdich in the morning, Lagavulin in the afternoon. BRUICHLADDICH A very exciting moment. Ten o'clock was the grand reopening. The distillery was closed in 1995 and bought at the beginning of this year by a bunch of enthusiasts headed by Murray McDavid. A big crowd turned up for the event and about 1,200 people throughout the day. Your correspondent had been roped into being one of five tour guides, so I don't have any pictures of the tours, too busy talking bollocks. However here is a picture of party number one in the mill room. Another party in the still room. Getting quite jolly now. A small, exclusive and sober party in the mash room. Their website is great and essential, www.bruichladdich.com that will tell you more than I can here. Plenty of drams to be had in splendid weather. Here's Jim McEwan, the man responsible for getting the distillery into shape, drawing one of the first 'Bruichalddich Valinches', a bottle drawn straight from the cask. A 1969, 31yo. £50.00 for a 50cl bottle? Hold me back! So popular was this that they could not draw them off quick enough - so they found an old cooper (sorry Jim!) to knock the head out to give faster access. AFTERNOON - LAGAVULIN In the afternoon there were 'super-tours' of Lagavulin. Our group was directed by Marjorie Orr, who certainly knew her stuff. She gave us a quickie tour of the plant that was refreshingly honest. Not just mash-, wash-, still room, blah-blah etc.... And then introduced us to Ian the warehouseman. And what a man! (smutty comment no. 1). Ian demonstrated how the unique flavours of Lagavulin are added during maturation. And drew some samples of 1, 8 and 24 year old. That's a valinch in his hand by the way. And let us have a wee sample from each cask. Shhhh! Don't tell the tax man or the angels! Then outside to met with UDV's head whisky-boffin, Jim Beveridge In a gale, we nosed various samples of Lagavulin to see how it matured up to its peak at sixteen years. Actually the weather was very kind to us. (That's the 5yo). Hang on, a chef at a distillery? This is Scott from the fabulous Harbour Inn in Bowmore. This time he was serving up Lagavulin Scallops, landed just yards away, Scrummy with Lagavulin - distilled just feet away! At the end of the day, the tables are cleared away for songs and piping. WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY BOWMORE & LAPHROAIG As we had 'done' these days last year, Family LFW went to the beach. The Bowmore day ended with the clearing away of the tables for a concert. After the day at Laphroaig the tables were cleared away for a ceilidh. MORE ON PAGE TWO.....