The Hebridean island distilleries and those along the glorious sailing grounds of the West Coast are amongst the most scenic and historically fascinating in the industry. In 1984 Neil Wilson first visited the island distilleries on board the ketch Alystra and the book resulting from this wonderful trip, Scotch and Water, went on to be a classic of its genre. It delved into the history and development of the distilleries and the people who made these great whiskies. This new book incorporates the original research from Scotch and Water and includes a great deal of new material. The Islay malt sector is growing faster than any other in the trade, and this has led to the annual Islay Whisky Festival which attracts thousands of overseas visitors. The book not only features the established distilleries on Islay (Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Bowmore, Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Lagavulin, Laphroaig) and Jura, Mull and Skye (Talisker) but also the lost distilleries such as Port Ellen. The west-coast Oban Distillery is also included and there is a thorough look at the major role that women played in the history of illicit distiling in the County of Argyll with maps of known sites of distilling and appendices of the distillers and where and when they lived. Some of these records go back to the late 17th century.
