Scotland Travelogue 5/21 (Day 5, Part 2)

Continued from the previous part With many bottles, we temporarily returned to the trailer house by car. Then, heading out to collect the reserved oysters for the planned evening barbecue & Islay oyster party. About 15 minutes north of Bruichladdich by car, slightly inland from the coast, which felt a bit odd, but we purchased 100 oysters from a warehouse where freshly harvested oysters were stored. Besides raw and grilled oysters, my companions and I peeled them all one by one. The fresh-looking oysters were delicious, and the act of shucking itself was quite enjoyable. Once the oyster preparations were somewhat complete, I visited Bruichladdich, which was right next to us but I hadn't seen yet. Since the day of Bruichladdich is the following day, there weren't many special items for sale including Islay Festival bottles, but preparations seemed to be progressing towards that. Returning to the trailer house, a bartender from Ibaraki who is very knowledgeable about Islay offered to take me to the northern distilleries that we hadn't visited yet by car. Although technically all distilleries would be closed at this time, I had resigned myself to not seeing other distilleries since we needed to leave Islay early the next morning, so I was very happy. And surprisingly, the sky had cleared up beautifully. Heading north on the island, we first headed to Bunahabhain. I remembered from last time that it took a long time on a narrow road to reach there, but this time the view of Islay Sound and Jura Island that we saw along the way was an absolutely breathtaking scenery, the best of this trip. Who could have imagined that on a rainy morning, we would encounter such scenery under clear skies the same day. I regret not taking photos because I was overwhelmed, but generally, such grand landscapes seem to lose some of their impact when captured by amateurs. We visited Bunahabhain Distillery from the outside. Previously, when I visited, Bunahabhain had a missing 'h' in its name and the overall appearance didn't seem like a financially well-off distillery. However, there were many casks waiting to be bottled at the entrance, and the missing letters had been added, giving me an impression that it now seemed more economically comfortable than before. *The casks are full. Upon closer inspection, the color and thickness of the first 'h' character differ. Next, we also visited Cally from the outside. There wasn't much change compared to last time; it still had a slightly industrial impression, but the view from the still house was truly wonderful, and I wanted to see it again. On the way back to the trailer house, we also peeked at Kilchoman. It was still as beautiful and cute as before, but likely to expand its warehouses since there was construction work next door. Also, I thought it was typical of Islay that doors to malting and distilling facilities were left open without security concerns. Returning to everyone, we thoroughly enjoyed the barbecue and oysters, then returned to our room where I decided to finally open the Islay Festival bottle of Lagavulin. Although it was a precious bottle I had struggled to obtain, the bartenders had bought it for their customers, so I thought this was the right time for me to open it. Most importantly, we all wanted to drink it at this moment. And it was extremely delicious. Of course, I couldn't taste it without the heightened emotions, but its rich, viscous flavor with a deep complexity gave me an impression of being like my favorite standard 16-year-old, but even more profound and delicious. This wasn't the punchy type of Islay cask I usually think of, but rather a gentle malt that was approachable right from the moment it was opened. It had more aging character than its age statement suggested, with intense umami that didn't lead to drinking fatigue, making me want to order more repeatedly. Now, I was happily drunk but tomorrow we had an early departure. I needed to pack. Honestly, I thought it would just be packing bottles into my two suitcases (I hadn't brought much extra clothing), but collecting the distillery-exclusive bottles that the vanguard had bought, the bottles requested by my Japanese companions, and those acquired today at the festival, they turned out to be a considerable number that couldn't fit. Moreover, there were weight limits for checked luggage on the plane (additional fees for over 23kg, and no check-in allowed above 34kg), and bottles needed careful packaging to prevent breakage. Considering the hassle and cost of shipping back to Japan, plus the high risk of bottle damage, these were all irreplaceable bottles. *Some of the bottles I brought back. Despite discarding some bulky wooden boxes and packaging, there were still many. Trying to solve this puzzle-like challenge with my peer bartender from Takamatsu, I honestly felt like giving up and going to sleep halfway through. However, the experienced bartenders who had gone through such situations many times before skillfully solved this complex puzzle using cardboard packaging and other methods. The work took until nearly 4 AM, but we managed to pack everything together with the partner bottles in a way that seemed manageable. I took a brief nap, sincerely grateful to those who helped me. It's sad, but tomorrow I'll have to say goodbye to Islay. #Scotland Travelogue 2016