The fact that Islay is a small island doesn't mean there aren't a lot of differences between the malts
from these eight distilleries. All three 'Kildalton' distilleries (Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig) produce
powerful, peaty malts but they all have their own accents. Medicinal notes like iodine and band aids
usually betray a Laphroaig while a combination of fruit, peat and organics is the mark of an Ardbeg.
The Port Ellen distillery isn't active anymore, but most drams I enjoyed were in the 'Kildalton' style
as well. Caol Ila usually has plenty of peat as well, but especially at a younger age it's lighter and
more 'transparent' than the Kildalton malts. That leaves the three B's which are all far less peaty,
Bowmore (more smoky than peaty), Bruichladdich (lightly peated) and Bunnahabhain (unpeated.)

The power of Islay malts can be overwhelming for less experienced noses and palates. Most Islay whiskies are very characteristic and immediately recognisable because of their trademark peaty character. There's just one notable exception; Bunnahabhain. This is the only distillery on the entire island that produces an unpeated single malt. The Bruichladdich distillery makes a lightly peated whisky - much subtler than the spirit of most other Islay distilleries, but they also produce two heavily peated varieties; Port Charlotte and Octomore that should appeal to the peatheads. Other Islay distilleries like Ardbeg experiment with different peat levels too.

Sorry for the clumsy nature of this page.
I'm working on it...

Islay is the birthplace of the peatiest malts in the world,
even though more and more peat monsters are distilled
on the Scottisch mainland. As you may have picked up
before, I'm not into subtlety - at least not as far as single
malts are concerned. That's why I love those 'in yer face'
Islay malts; peat, smoke, salt, seaweed, iodine, liquorice,
sweat and leather are just some of the typical Islay traits.
Needless to say, my trip to Islay in 2005 (together with a
contingent of almost a dozen other certified malt maniacs)
was a real pilgrimmage for me - or rather: a pildrammage.
The picture: Serge, Olivier and Davin dramming at Oa.

Please note that the peaty character of most Islay malts isn't a real 'regional' trait.
Mainland distilleries can produce peat monsters too, as Brora and Benriach have proven.

Arbeg
Bowmore
Bruichladdich
Bunnahabhain
Caol Ila
Kilchoman
Lagavulin
Laphroaig
Port Ellen

Single malts from Islay:  

Please note that these differences in 'house style' don't
seem to be caused by regional factors. Except for the three
'Kildalton' distilleries, I haven't found any obvious connection
between the style and character of an Islay single malt and
the location of the distillery. Choices that are made during
the distillation process, the maturation process and the cask
selection seem much more important factors than location.
And that puts the whole 'geography' issue into perspective.

The Springbank distillery also produces the
more heavily peated 'Longrow' malts, as well
as a new spirit under the name 'Hazelburn'.
Once again, these are second-hand names
of silent distilleries in the Campbeltown area.