Scotland Travelogue 5/21 (Day 5) Part 1

Rose at 6 AM. It was pouring rain from the start, which made me feel like crying about my own 'rain man' status. Everyone said it's unavoidable since we're all in Scotland, but I felt like they were judging me with their eyes.... Based on the official announcement that Lagavulin's 200th anniversary edition has over 3,000 bottles (18-year-old), I decided to split into two groups: one for the limited 600-bottle Bowmore Hand Fill and another for Lagavulin. I was assigned to the Bowmore group. Departed at 7 AM and waited in front of Bowmore's visitor center. It seemed like everyone was focused on Lagavulin's 200th anniversary edition, so there were no other people waiting - I was first in line. *In front of the visitor center. There was a monument-like water feature that wasn't there during my previous visit.* However, soon after, people who looked like whisky enthusiasts from various countries started gathering. Because of the rain and cold weather, they opened earlier than usual at 9 AM instead of 10 AM. However, since selling alcohol before 10 AM is legally prohibited in Scotland, we had to wait inside the visitor center until 10 AM. The Festival Bottle (limited to 1,500 bottles) of Bowmore was stacked high inside, while the Hand Fill was said to be filled in the warehouse. As it was a festival, high-spirited distillery staff served everyone whiskey (Black Rock) while we waited. When the time came, after settling the payment for both the Festival Bottle and Hand Fill, we moved to the warehouse. We were allowed to use the traditional valinch tool - a device for drawing whiskey from casks - which was very fun, although quite a bit spilled, which felt wasteful. We labeled and attached necessary information like alcohol content and signatures to each bottle. This task was divided among everyone who came along, and as we became more skilled, our efficiency improved significantly. *Meeting the Hand Fill cask* *Using the valinch to draw whiskey from the cask. Unexpectedly difficult...* After finishing everything, I moved to Lagavulin. As expected for the bicentenary year, there were already an enormous number of people waiting in line, creating a long queue. Moreover, the progress was abnormally slow. It seemed that there were only two registers (with just one accepting credit cards) for such a large crowd. The friends who had been waiting earlier were exhausted from the cold and rain but had finally reached just before purchasing. The weather continued to change between rain and sun, with our clothes repeatedly getting wet and drying for a total of 3 hours and 40 minutes. Finally, I was able to purchase my long-awaited Lagavulin Islay Festival Bottle. They were also selling the Jazz Festival bottle, which I purchased alongside. *The long line facing the distillery in the background. This photo was taken halfway through the queue. In reality, we were waiting twice as long in the rain.* Next, I moved to Laphroaig and purchased their Islay Festival-oriented Carthach (Cardis) bottle, which was released today. It's a Madeira cask finish, and while I tasted it, there were no unnatural elements. The strong sweetness was impressive. However, unlike the other distilleries, Laphroaig wasn't crowded at all. It seems they understand that most people on the island are Islay malt fans, so they have sufficient stock and you don't need to rush. *The usual photo spot wasn't crowded at all. (Laughing)* Next was Ardbeg. It wasn't that crowded, but the atmosphere was completely different from my previous visit. What used to be a small-scale, simple, and unadorned place now had murals on the walls and large logos on the ground - clearly more tourist-oriented. I heard that it was renovated last year for the bicentenary. No wonder, with big capital behind it, things are different. The general release label for the Islay Festival bottle of Dark Cove will be released later at Ardbeg Day, so I left it to the remaining Islay friends. As usual, it should eventually come to Japan through proper channels. *Many paintings on the walls and the familiar logo on the ground. The atmosphere had completely changed.* To be continued in Part 2. #Scotland Travelogue 2016