There's more to Islay whiskies than just peat

Bunnahabhain may be from Islay, but its core range is uncharacteristically unpeated, unlike most Islay whiskies. —Photos: MICHAEL CHEANG/The Star

Why does the Islay distillery of Bunnahabhain make its names so hard to pronounce? Among its expressions include names like Stiuireadair (pronounced stew-rahdur) and Toiteach (pronounced toch-ach), and even the name of the distillery isn’t pronounced the way you may think it is (it’s bu-na-ha-venn).

“Why not a simpler name? Well, we’re stuck in our heritage!” said Kristie McCallum, master blender for Distell International, which owns the distillery. “Islay is still very much a Gaelic island. Even the street signs are still in Gaelic.”