September 28, 2008

oban syha

the scottish youth hostels are a budget traveller's dream. fantastic locations, great staff.
you can book online or on the telephone. http://www.syha.org.uk


September 23, 2008

bruichladdich distillery

the bruichladdich distillery on the isle of islay... one of the few "independent" distilleries in scotland. which means that its still owned by a bunch of scots. most of the distilleries in scotland are owned by multinational f&b conglomerates. for example, the italian giant DIAGEO owns the caol ila, cardhu, clynelish, cragganmore, dalwhinnie, glen elgin, glen ord, glenkinchie, knockando, lagavulin, oban, royal lochnager, and talisker distilleries... all famous for their single malts!!

so the bruichladdich is the source of much local pride! the "we're not like them, we do our own thing" syndrome. which, admittedly they do. they are forever trying new expressions of whiskey.