Udo Sonntag - A Journeyman's Journey - The Story of Jim McEwan

To the southwest, an impressive new world opens up on the Oa peninsula. Passing through Port Ellen village, you’ll come to a road that appears to wind its way to the end of the world. Along this route, it wouldn’t be at all unusual to suddenly find yourself in a traffic jam, caused most likely by a flock of sheep, running around freely. I’m sure most of you won’t have experienced traffic like this before. The destination of this road, however, is not the end of the world, but the ‘American Monument’ overlooking the rugged sea cliffs of the Oa. This round brick tower was erected as an impressive memorial to American soldiers who died off Islay’s coast during the First World War. The troopship ‘Tuscania’ sank in 1918 after being torpedoed by a submarine. Though most of the 2,000 American soldiers survived, about 230 of them died. You can’t help but be emotionally moved.

From Port Ellen, the A846 leads north towards Bowmore, a road affectionately known as the Low Road. Most of you will know what Islay whisky is famous for: peat, peat and more peat. The Low Road offers a good ten kilometres of dead straight road with only peatland surrounding you. (You will get to know the village of Bowmore in more detail later in the book.)

Islay is almost divided in half by two sea lochs: Loch Indaal and Loch Gruinart. Their shallow waters provide unique retreats for a wide range of birdlife, which attracts many ornithologists to the island every year. In complete contrast to Loch Indaal is the north-west of the island, still largely undiscovered by tourists. From these coasts you can witness the dramatic power of the North Atlantic. Whether from the cliffs of Sanaigmore, or the bays at Saligo or Machair, you can feel it everywhere. Islay is surrounded by occasionally shallow, eternally moving, stormy waters, all of which are quite magical places for me. However, I’ve not told you everything about Islay – I’d like to keep a few secrets for myself. Probably the best thing to do would be to familiarise yourself by way of a map. The vastness, the peat, the mountains, the sea, the cliffs, the waves, the wind – all this has had a great impact on my life and has provided me with a very strong sense of home. It makes me deeply happy and satisfied to be an Ileach.

This island gave me my start in life, for which I am more than grateful. It is such a good mother to the children who grow up here, for as an Ileach, you are bestowed with rich gifts for life. The first thing you learn is humility in the face of Mother Nature. Depending on where you are on the island, at any given time, you can actually experience all four seasons in one day – a fact once featured in a Laphroaig advertising campaign: Islands in the sun are not for everyone.

In autumn, heavy storms often arise, with dark, threatening clouds creating an apocalyptically dark backdrop. Then the peace and quiet is quickly over. In times like these, I’m grateful for a warm house and a glass of whisky by the fireplace – a moment of perfection! On Islay, everything has its value and you inevitably learn to appreciate the little things in life. Life here is rarely dictated by a schedule; Mother Nature is calling the shots here. But, honestly, could you put yourself in better hands? I doubt it. I love this, my island.

If you have previously visited Islay, you have probably felt the attraction for yourself, the magic of this place. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of this unique corner of the world, then I hope I can at least give you an idea of its appeal. These mere 250 square miles are far more than just my birthplace. In truth, they are a source of great pride. My Islay roots nourish and sustain me, and I doubt it’s just me who sees it that way. Living on Islay also means that you are part of a community; believe me, on an island like this we all know and respect each other and know pretty much everything about each other. When it comes down to it, the islanders stick together in a way that might be hard for visitors to understand. The island community is strong.

For instance, pay attention to what happens when you are driving on Islay. When we meet another vehicle on the road, we raise our hand briefly to greet each other – the Islay Wave. It is obligatory here, no matter who is behind the wheel, and it’s taken for granted. But it sometimes irritates a number of visitors. I often see people who, having experienced it for the first time, slow down or even stop because they think there is something wrong with the car. The local paper has printed letters from visitors who were convinced they had been mistaken for someone else. However, it’s just a wonderful gesture indicating, “Hello, good to see you!” Does it cost us anything? Not a thing, not a single penny – but it brings so much and it helps sustain our sense of community. When you come to Islay, you’re part of the family, a wonderful and natural hospitality. Team spirit works, and we feel comfortable with this team spirit; you might even say we need it. We share our lives here in a limited space – so everyone has to accept that, a fact that the majority have understood. This island is famous all around the world, because it’s a veritable hotspot for whisky, a detail about which we will talk later. Nine of the world’s most important whisky distilleries exist here, apparently for good reason. Legend has it that God was once asked why he entrusted the art of whisky distilling to the Scots, to which He replied that the Scots could easily handle the responsibility of preserving the art. Show me a single spot on this earth where over 20 million litres of pure alcohol are produced a year and where the crime rate is so low as to be virtually immeasurable? Statistically speaking, that’s over 50,000 litres per Ileach … and yet almost zero crime. Such paradisia can only be found on Islay. And it works, having done so for generations.

The port of Bowmore.

The Loch Indaal Lighthouse Rubh an Duin.

Islay is a success story of a very special kind, yet not only to do with the water of life, the whisky. When I talk about Islay, what resonates is the wonderful landscape, the untamed force of nature, the special location, the people, the community. That’s what I mean when I talk about Islay. I would like to take you with me, to let you share my adventurous and often almost unbelievable journey of a lifetime.

To be a part of Scotland, be a part of the whisky world, be a part of Islay and be an Ileach for a moment, sit down in your armchair, treat yourself to a dram and join me …

I have always seen the fact that I was born on Islay as a stroke of luck, for which I am very grateful. This island is still the perfect place for me and always has been. Looking back, however, many, many things have changed over these past 70 years. Life on Islay today is nothing like it was then. I was born at a time when the aftermath of the war was still very present, having ended only three years before I was born, leaving clear traces and wounds. Although the war was over, the price of victory had been high and painful. On Islay, husbands, fathers, sons, brothers had lost their lives, now missing from the island, but more importantly, missing from their families.