I’ve recently spent a week on Islay (pronounced “eye-luh” if you’re new to Scots) – a beautifully rugged island off the west coast of Scotland that’s often presumed to be a weather-beaten moonscape that punishes you with sideways sleet. The reality is that whenever I post photos of the white sand beaches and the turquoise-blue seas, people presume I’m in the Med. I constantly assert that Scotland is the most beautiful country in the world, but the landscapes of the west coast are something everyone should visit at some point in their lives.
For many, a trip to Islay is motivated by its famous distilleries. It’s a bucket-list moment for any whisky lover, and being able to taste the highly coveted drams in situ is a once-in-a-lifetime situation. I can attest they taste even more special on the island, especially given the wonderful stories you can hear firsthand from distillery workers, and the quiet humour and warmth of the local Ileachs. If you’ve seen my west coast episode on Mr Lyan’s Taste Trips, you’ll have noted the wonderful scenery, as well as the incredible flora and fauna that surrounds Islay.
But Islay whiskies’ reputation of simply being “smoky” is worth revisiting. To start, there are unpeated versions made at distilleries such as Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila. But if you step back from the immediacy of smoky aromas, you will notice the whiskies have a huge amount of variance, and also have a huge impact on how other flavours develop and translate. If you’re lucky to taste whiskies from the Port Ellen distillery (a “ghost” distillery that was closed in 1983 until it was revived in 2024) you’ll notice a perfumed smoke hinting at lilacs, sea spray and mangoes.
Meanwhile, the smoke found in more lightly peated whiskies (peat is a local fuel source used to dry the malted barley used in production, which produces a smoky backbone to the distillate – this transforms during ageing in wood, but remains in several forms), such as at Bowmore, can open out notes of guava, pink grapefruit and pineapple. When using these whiskies in cocktails, the spirit reveals notes you might not have found when tasting them neat. Getting beyond the impact of the strength, smoke and richness uncovers new flavours.
The addition of even a teaspoon of smoky whisky can change all the flavours around it, much like a pinch of salt in your cocktail that lifts and enhances other ingredients. There used to be a drink at 69 Colebrooke Row simply called Ryan loves Talisker, named for my love of using the flavour-packed single malt from the Isle of Skye as secret sauce.
This drink uses the richness of Lagavulin’s earthy smoke, and really pulls itself into a brilliantly zesty-style drink.
BBQ Southside
Ingredients
35ml gin
25ml lemon juice
15ml elderflower cordial
10ml falernum liqueur
7ml Lagavulin
6 mint leaves
Melon, to garnish
Method
Add all ingredients (except melon) to a shaker and shake very hard with cubed ice. Double strain into a frozen cocktail glass and garnish with a slice of melon.
The Pantry with Ryan Chetiyawardana is a regular column in which the award-winning bartender and bar owner shares how to use unexpected ingredients in easy-to-make home cocktails.
