Bunnahabhain, Back from Silence

In 1930, the Depression hit small, remote producers like Bunnahabhain hardest, and it shut its doors completely — it didn't reopen for seven years. It could easily have never come back at all, which is exactly why it's worth turning up today: every dram poured here is proof the comeback stuck. The Warehouse 9 Experience runs ninety minutes and finishes with a tasting of four drams, poured straight from casks of American and European oak, while you stand surrounded by the maturing stock itself. Before heading back, it's worth the walk up the coast to Rubha Bhachlaig (about a mile from the distillery, an hour or so there and back) — a natural rock arch stands over the water here, missed by every OS survey, and it feels like as far from anywhere else on Islay as you can get.