One Must Go

[Ganga]

Everyone always seems to be talking about their favorite Islay. I thought it might be interesting to select the Islay distillery you'd miss the least if it closed. Kilchoman has been excluded for obvious reasons.

[Mr Fjeld]

I vote for Bunnahabhain. I've only tried the 12 which is perfectly ok but I like the others too much to see them go.

[Paul A Jellis]

I was tempted to vote for Port Ellen, but a friend told me it is already closed, so I went for Bowmore instead - easy choice.

I did invite them at Whisky Live to try and tempt me back, but they were more intersted in what I thought of the new packaging!

[jcasazza]

tough choice, like most of them , i had to pick one i havent tried yet

[mikeymad]

Not sure if I like an anti-beverage thread.

The easy choice, is Port Ellen, it IS closed.....

But to vote for one that COULD be closed - I vote for Bunnahabhain. Their recent old ones have peaked an interest. But I am not sure how much I would miss it compared to the others.

A second choice for me would be between Ardbeg, Laphroaig, and Lagavulin. They seem to be slight variations on a theme of peat. All good. So dropping Laphroaig, I stil have the other two to play with.

Cheers,

[TheLaddie]

I went for the easy vote with Port Ellen, as pointed out above, it is already gone. If I had to choose another it would be Caol Ila. While I've enjoyed plenty of their output I don't remember going up to the Caol Ila sized gap on my whisky shelf and cursing its absence. All the other Islay distilleries are represented and bottled would be replaced pretty quickly if I finished one.

[Ganga]

I know how many of you feel. I thought it was an easy choice about 2 years ago but more and more I'm developing a taste for the Bunnie. I think in part it was the 21 yo Signatory bottling and the recent release of the OB 18.

[K-Mile]

I don't want any of them to go, since I have only tasted two different distilleries! I want to try the others too, so let's keep them around shall we

[kildalton]

This is a good topic indeed because it's clever, it's too easy to tell the best one less which one to dismiss.This is even less easy when all distilleries are so good.
For example I had the 12 bunna(ob early 80 first italian import)and wow that's great!
Anyway I voted the laddie.
It's likely they make great whisky but for me it's the distillery that less transmits me an emotional feeling(even if I do not why...Eh, Can we keep them all? )

[Spirit of Islay]

I voted for Bowmore because of two reasons , (1) the whisky has steadily got worse since i first went over to Islay ( Bowmore 10yo was my Fav Islay back then....) , i tend to avoid it like the plague now , all the recent bottlings i've tried have been awful . (2) The sheer arrogance of their market department at the last 2 masterclasses i attended at The Feis Ile ( 2005 was the last one) . I now would not miss them one bit if they vanished .

I must say on the way the voting has gone i would definitely miss Bunnahabhain , if you can get past the standard bottlings ( 12, 18 , 25) they have stunning whisky ! I've seen it , and tried it , in the warehouses , lots of the I.B.'s are fantastic (Sukhinders 27yo recent bottling , my best bottling of the year so far) .
A Note to BSD....(especially the Marketing Dept )
Please release the 12/18/25yo at 46% , NCF , uncoloured .
Please release more at the above specifications and at a reasonable price !
Do something with the 1997 Moine ! it's superb !! Make the others sit up and take notice of it !
That was a Whisky Drinkers Political Broadcast on behalf of the Bunnie Lovers Party !

[bond]

I voted Bunnahabhain too and I was not surprised to see most folks vote for it too. While their older vintages could indeed be remarkable, in an apples-to-apples discussion, the whisky clearly loses out for being un-distinctive.

I would have voted for Bowmore next..very surprised to see Ardbeg and Laddie get votes, but I guess to each his own.

Great topic Ganga...

[The Fachan]

Went for Port Ellen, yes its the easy way out but both Bunna and The Laddie offer the contart that needed against all the peat in the south.
Good thing is the way SM sales are going they will all be around for the foreseeable future.

[TreacleSponge]

I voted Bowmore. I've only had 2 or 3 bottlings, but I've never enjoyed it. It's a long time since I've had any, and the only flavour I recall from it is salt.

[Wave]

I quite agree with Spirit Of Islay and don't have much to add except that for Port Ellen is a distillery I would love to see reopened!

Cheers!

[Muskrat Portage]

I voted for Bowmore in the idle hope that maybe they would resurrect Port Ellen in it's place. This is a fantasy poll right? So, let me have my fantasy... the return of a fallen distillery.

As for why I picked Bowmore? I've not discovered FWP yet and if the distillery were to disappear, there's a strong possibility that the LCBO wouldn't buy up all the "we can't sell this to anyone but Canadians" stock!

Musky

[Paul A Jellis]

I wonder if the guys up at Bowmore are watching this poll?

[LeoDLion]

I misread and checked Ardbeg by mistake.

[martin grant]

To be honest I haven't voted and bring myself to do so.

It's like being asked to choose between your children. Can't be done.

Sorry

[Sherried Malt]

Since I've never had a Bunnahabhain, that was an easy choice. Ignorance is bliss in this case. If we have to vote for a distillery we've actually tasted, then I'd vote for Bowmore. I'd miss the 17 but aside from that one bottling, there's so much stuff that's more appealing to me.

Poor Bowmore, we hardly knew ye...

[parvus]

Bruichladdich - Not necessarily for what I consider fairly average whisky (recent stuff, anyway) but for the absolutely rancid marketing and the baffling finishing regimen they use.

[bond]

I misread and checked Ardbeg by mistake.

Thank God you confessed. And hopefully you voted 4 times too

Cant imagine anyone wanting Ardbeg to be closed...

[TheTross]

Bowmore, simply because every bottling I've tried of it (not many to be fair, around five I think, the best being the 17) have had a flowery/perfumed character - all I can get from them in varying degrees is lavender. I know some people like that, but I detest it.

[les taylor]

Welcome to the forums Tross. We like opinions here.

[Reggaeblues]

I voted brookladdie only because, tho' I've enjoyed every dram i've had, i've only ever owned 1 1/4 bottles and never felt drawn to replace it in a "must have" sorta way, or bothered to explore its rather confusing artillery of OBs...

bunnahabhain's 12 is all i've tried, and I almost voted for that. In fact, fickle as I am, the only reason i didn't is because i've been given 3 bottles by kind folk merely because the last 4 letters spell my surname!

I found it a very pleasant MOR dram that kinda falls between 2 schools, like a mild Springbank. not too much of anything.

I love Bowmore when they get it right. for me, the dry herby lavender note is the one thing that makes it distinctive. The 17 is the standout as far as OBs go...

I might have said Caol Ila, but my best man's gift to me of an 18 YO really delighted me.

..which of course leaves the mighty big 3.

[bond]

I voted brookladdie only because, tho' I've enjoyed every dram i've had, i've only ever owned 1 1/4 bottles and never felt drawn to replace it in a "must have" sorta way, or bothered to explore its rather confusing artillery of OBs...

No wonder statisticians talk of non-representative samples skewing polls. But you should seriously try drinking laddie more often... hard to beat it for balance

[Deactivated Member]

I don't wish closure upon ANY Scottish distillery, no matter where the location.
So I am abstaining in this poll.
MT

[jazz lover]

Bunnahabhain

[mattbuty]

really got to defend Bunnahabhain here.

Fabulous distillery with some really passionate people working for them, and a community that interacts closely with the distillery. I have a 14 year old Pedro Ximinez Bunnahabhain here, and let me tell you it is a masterpeice.

I am told that their 1966 Auld Acquaintence is superb (for those that can afford it)

And for me, the 12 is a great drink, which is more subtle than some of its neighbours standard offering, but in no way is it inferior!!!

And for the record, we should be all doing our bit to ensure we do not lose any more of these distilleries, not playing some sort of "Whisky weakest Link". Celebrate them all

[Willie JJ]

Well its hugely controversial isn't it? Good question, although it might have made us less nervous if you had simply said which one do you like least.

Obviously PE is already gone.

I voted for Bowmore, not because I think it anything other than a fine dram, but I think it has lost its way a little recently (especially the OBs) and it seems to me to be struggling for a niche amongst the Islays. It's sort of in the middle and suffering for it.

[hiccy]

Aside from taking the copout and voting for PE, I honestly couldn't vote for this. Perhaps Lagavulin, but it's absence from my shelves is purely because it's a fave of my father and drinking buddy, so I am assured of a ready dram when desired!

I've not been that impressed with the couple of OB Bunna's I've tried, but I haven't explored greatly and I do have an impressive 9yo Signatory to hand. Just been forced to re-visit it now and it must have been better than I remembered, there's almost none left!

Bowmore is a great whisky to my tastes, and whilst i haven't had many bottles, the '89 16yo CS I have is very much treasured.

Close down Ardbeg, Caol Ila, LADDIE??? Nor the mighty peat monster Laphroaig.

Nope, can't vote: as someone said, it's like choosing which child to lose.

[Ganga]

I very much realize that PE has already been closed (and beyond). The point was to do a little introspective search. If this distillery closed would I miss it. Well, for some it is very difficult; for others, not so much and I'm sure there are a few that wouldn't miss any of the Islays.

Me? A year ago I wouldn't have missed Bunny at all. Today, I would miss it quite a bit but not as much as the other seven. I will miss PE when they are gone which if rumor is true it pretty much is.

[Di Blasi]

Honestly, after so long wondering which "one must go," I've decided: NONE! Must, keep, them, all!!!!!

[Willie JJ]

A wee photo for those supporting Bunnahabhain. A much underrated distillery in my view and deserving of much more of our attention.

[Di Blasi]

Nice foto, great attention getter. Nothing available here from the distillery besides the standard 12, but 2 from bottlers that might be worth trying then. I know Bunnahabhain has some serious fans, (Spirit of Islay!) so I'd love to try more.

[Willie JJ]

Just put peat from your mind DB and focus on the dram. I don't think we can really understand Islay without this. It's not the peat that makes Islay great its the underlying whisky. Bunna really shows that. They have recently been experimenting with peat and they can do it brilliantly, but they don't need it. It stands alone.