The Islay Festival kicks off in May. Here’s everything you need to know.
Fèis Ìle is set to run from 24 May to 1 June 2024.
This isn’t by any means a whisky-only festival - it’s a celebration of the island with music, dance, storytelling and a few whiskies.
For those who are visiting to see the distilleries, the festival is arranged so that each of the main distilleries have their own day of events, which usually include tours and tastings as well as live music.
Over the course of the ten days, each distillery has a day where they host tours and tastings, with a range of live music taking place across Islay.
Highlights usually always include Ardbeg Day and Bunnahabhain Day, which traditionally take place on the first Sunday and last Saturday.
Distillery days are are follows:
While all events are popular, fans go wild for Bruichladdich day and Ardbeg day making this a whisky fuelled week for those who have sorted out travel and accommodation.
For anyone not into whisky, there’s events for beer, gin and rum as well as cultural events that are well worth attending. Highlights from years gone by include the Mist'ry Bus Tour, ceilidhs and the everything but whisky festival at The Machrie.
Tickets are available for Fèis Ìle events, which are on sale now.
Keep an eye on Fèis Ìle social media accounts, as well as those of your favourite Islay distilleries for updates.
Established almost 30 years ago, the festival of music and malt draws visitors from across the globe to the shores of the island each year to experience its community, culture, and its world-renowned whisky.
Fèis Ìle, which was initially staged to revive the island’s traditional Gaelic culture, has grown to become the major showcase for Islay’s food and drink operators.
Organised by a committee of volunteers and the island’s distilleries, the Fèis has recorded attendances of 9000 in recent years, three times its population.
These are always extremely popular, with more information available from the distilleries but so far we know that Ardbeg have announced their limited edition whisky, Ardbeg Spectacular, which is priced at £110 and will be available from 23 April. It paves the way for the Ardbeg theme, which is ‘dark circus’.
Bunnahabhain Distillery is celebrating Fèis Ìle 2024 with three new limited release expressions: a 14-year-old Ruby Port Cask Finish,a 19-year-old Mòine Madeira Finish and a 23-year-old Triple Sherry Wood Finish.
Bunnahabhain 14-Year-Old Ruby Cask Finish has an ABV of 58.7% and is priced at £120. Available from the website, Bunnahabhain Distillery and selected global specialist retailers.
Bunnahabhain 19 year-old Mòine Madeira Finish has an ABV of 51.2% and is priced at £199. Available from the distillery website and Bunnahabhain Distillery.
Bunnahabhain 23-year-old Triple Sherry Wood Finish has an ABV of 53.3% and is priced at £400. It is available from the website, Bunnahabhain Distillery, and selected global specialist retailers.
Mac-Talla Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky is set to release an exclusive Fèis Ìle bottling ahead of the annual festival.
In a first for the brand they have matured their Islay Single Malt in rum casks resulting in a tropical and juicy whisky which is smoky on the palate, giving way to maritime salinity, chargrilled pineapple and rich, lingering vanilla notes.
The whisky will be priced at £98 and there's 580 bottles available.
Find out more about Fèis Ìle here.
