Islay—pronounced eye-la—has been one of Scotland’s whisky heartlands since at least the 1700s. Once a cottage industry, making Scotch here is now big business: global giants Beam Suntory, Diageo, LVMH ...

In 1815, on the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides, the Ardbeg distillery was founded. On an island as small and sparsely populated as Islay, there was a time when a distillery was its own town ...

The island of Islay may not be particularly large but it holds gigantic sway over the world of Scotch whisky. The sheep-filled interior and craggy shores of the island are also home to nine (including ...