“Where knowledge awakens our senses to the technicality of craft, and history and culture come alive in Scottish kinship.“

The Islay Whisky Academy provides educational and enriching whisky experiences on the beautiful Hebridean island of Islay and in the ever-expanding virtual sphere. It was created by Rachel MacNeill, a local lass, born in Colonsay and brought up at Daill Farm on Islay. Rachel fell in love with Scotch whisky after tasting a stunning Bruichladdich at the tender age of just 15 (the Islay Whisky Academy does NOT promote underage drinking!). After achieving an MA in Celtic Studies at Glasgow University, Rachel worked for several years in Environmental Architecture and Structural Engineering before being inspired to create Whisky for Girls (and Guys), one of the first ever blogs about whisky that women wrote for women.

A life-changing trip to India inspired the creation of Wild and Magic Islay, a business that provided tour experiences in Islay that immersed tourists in island life. Next came the Theatre of Drams Whisky Symposium, held in Bowmore Hall. The event featured a series of talks and workshops that educated and informed visitors to the island on all aspects of whisky and whisky production.

From that concept grew the Islay Whisky Academy and its 5-day residential diploma course that covers almost everything you can think of from chemistry, copper, peat, tradition, water, barley and yeast to weather, wood, business models, funding, warehousing, customers, distribution, marketing, buyers, drinkers, investors and much, much more.

Naturally, the Covid pandemic saw Islay and her distilleries closed and tourists unable to visit the island but that only encouraged Rachel to think bigger. An online course, entitled Whisky Affinity was published in August 2020. The course provided a fresh perspective on whisky, from those best placed to do so: the people steeped in the centuries of knowledge that goes into the production of Scotch whisky today.

I became involved with the Islay Whisky Academy in April 2020, when Rachel asked me to host The Islay Whisky Academy Kinship Group on Facebook. This virtual meeting place is a hub for those who have attended the Academy course on Islay or enrolled in the Whisky Affinity online course. The group sees people from all over the world join through their passion for Islay and whisky, and there’s even the occasional virtual get-together across the internet!

I’ve learned so much from my time with the Islay Whisky Academy. A trip to Islay with the Academy can offer incredible experiences, including lectures from industry experts, distillery visits, and peat cutting. museum trips, a visit to the Octomore spring, history lessons at Finlaggan, Geology lessons on the beach in front of Bruichladdich and countless fantastic drams.

You can learn more about the Islay Whisky Academy by visiting the website.

5-day Residential Diplomas run in March and October.