Feature- Islay, the whisky island

I live in Glasgow and thus see it as my duty to report on the Scots' national drink, whisky. I've been to whiskey auctions, private whisky clubs and have even interviewed an olfactory expert who trains you in the art of “nosing” the whisky. Bit by bit, I have become quite a connoisseur of the uisge beatha.
This article is a journey to the island of Islay, a paradise for whisky fans with eight distilleries on its windswept area. A visit there illustrates how important the whisky industry is in Scotland: as an artisan product, as an export, as s creator of jobs in far flung areas and as a tourist attraction. I tasted a lot of smoky single malt. And yes, I met a bunch of "peat heads" from Germany who spoke fondly about a whisky with the taste of "dead body".