Having been a whole week on Islay and having rediscovered  that ‘slowing down’ comes in steps, we had left our dwelling in the smallest of the Bowmore cottages, and found ourselves homeless for the next couple of hours. 

When we are on Islay, the weather is always great, even when it is raining horizontally and the ferries are being cancelled. Today, the weather was fantastic, in the more commonly known meaning of the word; blue skies, sun up in the sky and hardly any wind. Hardly surprising, we decided to drive to the sandy beaches of Machir Bay, just a couple of minutes past the Kilchoman distillery.

On the verge of low tide, we strolled along the beach for a couple of hours, inhaling some of the appealing scenery and fresh sea breeze, before we headed back to the aforementioned distillery for a hearty lunch and two more whisky related books on our way out, to fill our growing library with.

From Kilchoman, it is a short drive to Bruichladdich, where we decided to book a tour for the following morning, since impromptu tours during this week seemed impossible with our turquoise friends, as we either seemed to arrive when a tour had just left ten minutes ago, or we dropped in at the end of a day.

When stepping into their little shop, we were instantly recognised by Bruichladdich legend Mary. She dropped what she was doing and started chatting with us about how long it had been, how things were, and with goose bumped skins and teary eyes, shared our collective memories of people since departed. 

If you would ever wonder why we always name Bruichladdich as our favourite distillery, this is part of the reason why. Over the past few years, we have had the fortune to experience some of our most fantastic memories with different people, in different situations during our travels. With Bruichladdich alone, we have created an enormous amount of those memories, firmly placing the distillery to mark the top spot on our ‘favourite distillery’ list. And this is not just for the spirit they produce, but more importantly, for their spirit.

That recognition in Mary’s eyes the other day created one of these memories. Looking for matching wellies in a pile of unequal pairs of wellies all those years ago with Carl and our friends, each and everyone of them smiling from ear to ear whilst hiking to the Bruichladdich water source in the pouring rain, another. That very evening concluded, after stealthily receiving a box of liquid surprises from Christy during dinner at the Bridgend hotel, to be enjoyed when our singing voices slipped slightly out of tune (and had grown louder) by the sip. 

The long evenings in the shared house in Port Charlotte – with a different group of friends in a different era, sharing different drams. Ansgar taking part in a group picture on the Bruichladdich square with only #WhiskyFabric women – and Jim. A day closed – and a great evening started – with the best spaghetti meatballs ever at Martine’s kitchen table, accompanied live by Norma’s guitar and a couple of her (very much in tune) songs, which humbled everyone present that evening. More goosebumps.

We can go on for a while, mind you, with Bruichladdich(day) memories alone. We have savoured these moments, large and small. These were only a small part of our moments and they are important to the both of us. We remember the smiles, the hugs, the wellies, the little pinch in your arm with a “nice to see you’re back”, the rain, the sun, the wind, the midges, and, most of all, the beautiful people, without whom we would have none of these moments to discover. Make memories, create new anecdotes, meet new people, remember the stories.

Share your stories, moments and passion with the world. Without them, we are lost. Without them, we are forgotten. In our case, whisky is the connector, and more than only a beverage, it is also about the people who make it, the people who sell it, the people who drink and enjoy it, and the people who share their passion about it – this is all of us, including you. We all make the WhiskyFabric. 

When on Islay, our home away from home, we are never truly homeless, because of all these memories. Also, we were heading to our next cottage, ready for more adventures, and (spoiler alert), a couple of nights without TV. 

We may finally have found our lost “Islay time” after all.