Cycling and whisky combine in a pedal-powered tour of the Scottish island of Islay.

To celebrate the recent Islay Whisky Festival, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society have created a short film of The Homecoming. The Homecoming follows the journey of a special bottle of 17-year-old Society whisky as it returns to the world-famous whisky island on which it was distilled in 1997. The film shows the journey of the whisky, “Dark, Smouldering Flamenco Gypsy” (Society cask no. 3.243), as it is taken by boat from mainland Scotland to the west coast island to be unveiled exclusively at the Society’s Garden Party event at Islay House, at the start of the Islay Whisky Festival (Fèis íle in Gaelic). To mark the occasion, a team of cyclists from the society undertook a two-wheeled tour of the island, the Tour de Islay, visiting all eight of its distilleries. On completion of their tour, having collected stamps from each distillery, the riders are rewarded for their efforts with a well-earned dram of the whisky.

The Homecoming, which features music by up-and-coming Scottish band Skerryvore, was filmed by Lewis Notarangelo of Immagine Productions and produced by Connect Communications, who publish the SMWS’s magazine, Unfiltered. The film also offers a chance to experience the beautiful island and to find out what there is to see and do on a holiday to the west coast Scottish islands. Perhaps you will set off to do your own Tour De Islay or how about a cycling trip to Islay as part of the Scottish Island Hopscotch?

The Homecoming

More isles and whisky

Did you know? The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is an international whisky club and bottler that bottles the world’s widest selection of exceptional single cask, single malt whisky for its members.

Festival fun: The next Islay Whisky Festival takes place in May 2016. * Photography credit:  Peter Sandground