Saturday, June 10, 2006

Scotch Whisky

I went to the liquor store this evening to buy myself a whisky treat. i decided to try something new, instead of going with my old standby's Drambuie or Makers Mark. I picked Bowmore. I chose it because it was made on Islay. Which is close to Jura.
Heres what Wikipedia has to say about Islay
Islay (pronounced [ˈaɪlə]; in Gaelic Ìle [ˈiːʎə] or ee-lya) is a Scottish island, known as 'The Queen of the Hebrides,' is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides. It lies in Argyll just to the west of Jura and around 25 miles north of the Irish coast. On a clear day the Northern Irish coast can be seen clearly. The island's capital is Bowmore, famous for its distillery and distinctive round Kilarrow Parish Church. Port Ellen is the second largest settlement.
Islay has just over three thousand inhabitants. It has a total area of just over 600 square kilometres. Its main industries are malt whisky distilling, and tourism largely based on whisky and birdwatching.

I bought the Bowmore because the Oban whisky was too expensive, and they didn't have any Jura whisky. I was feeling kind of lonely, and a little homesick for Scotland. Jura is where my grandma grew up, and her sister (my second aunt?) lives in Oban. I want to go back to Scotland. I miss my family there. and I want to spend more time on Jura.

heres what Wikipedia says about Jura
Jura (Scottish Gaelic Diùra) is a Scottish island, in the Inner Hebrides. It lies just to the north of Islay. 'Diùrach' is the Gaelic name for a native of the island. In English this would be spelt 'Jurach'. However, there is no letter 'J' in Scottish Gaelic; "d" takes the sound of "j" when followed by a front vowel (e or i). Jura is designated as a National Scenic Area.
It is of a similar size to Islay, but is much less densely populated with around 160 inhabitants. The main settlement is at Craighouse [Taigh na Creige] on the east coast. The village of Craighouse is home to the island's one distillery, which makes Isle of Jura whisky. The village is also home to the island's only hotel, pub, shop and church.
A small car ferry operates across the Sound of Islay between Port Askaig on Islay and Feolin Ferry on Jura. From Feolin Ferry a single road follows the southern and eastern coastline of the island. To the north of Craighouse the road leads to Lagg, Tarbert, Ardlussa and beyond. A private track runs from the road end to the far north of the island.
The island is dominated by three steep-sided conical mountains on its western side – the Paps of Jura which rise to over 2500 feet (762 m). The west coast of Jura is currently uninhabited but is home to a number of raised beaches.
Past the road end is Barnhill [Cnoc an t-Sabhail], a remote house which was home to the novelist George Orwell, and where he wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Between the northern tip of Jura and the Island of Scarba [Sgarba] lies the Gulf of Corryvreckan [Coire Bhreacain] which boasts a whirlpool that makes passage impossible at certain states of the tide.
The island has a large population of red deer and it is commonly believed that the name Jura was derived from “hjörtr", the Norse word for deer.

2 comments:

O said...

I think that the sister of your Grandmother is your "great aunt". This is how I understand it. I understand the homesick thing, I am always a little homesick for Honduras, flares up around certain times of year especially.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a wonderful place. Your post made me curious. I've been looking at pics of Jura online. I've been to England several times but never made it up to Scotland. I'll have to go next time.