Whisky

On approaching Laphroaig, it seems as if the distillery has its back turned, with only some unassuming warehouses to see. But head on down the road and the view opens out across the bay, and even, on a clear day, over to Kintyre or Ireland.

Laphroaig faces the sea, and on a stormy day it's easy to see where the iodine tang in the whisky might come from. The malt has always been highly prized for this intense flavour, both in blends, and in the pure form.

Like many of the island distilleries, Ardbeg looks to the sea, in a reminder of the days when deliveries by road were virtually impossible. And there's something of the sea about the whisky too, a salty tang which speaks of its birthplace, although it's easy to miss, so powerful is the peat-smoke reek of the malt.

Sitting on the Dornoch Firth some 35 miles north of Inverness, Glenmorangie is in an area rich in wildlife. But its not just the seals and dolphins that are the attraction. 25,000 visitors head to the distillery each year, a number which will surely grow as word gets out about its gloriously revamped Visitor Centre. 

Tucked away at the end of the road to the North of Islay, Bunnahabhain has been quietly making whisky since 1883. Bunnahabhain is often called the gentle malt, since the barley that goes into it is very lightly peated, in contrast to the more usual smoky Islay style.

Set in the depths of rural East Lothian, within an hour of central Edinburgh, Glenkinchie distillery has been making a classic Lowland malt whisky for over 130 years.

As you approach Bruichladdich, the pretty whitewashed buildings running along the shore of Loch Indaal have a traditional Victorian feel to them, but they house one of the most innovative distilleries in Scotland.