Islay
Formerly the capital of the western isles, Islay is as the islands around here go, pretty big. It covers every inch of 61,956 hectares (153,093 acres) but its tallest point standing at 491m (1,610 ft) doesn't quite reach the standards of Arran. The population of Islay from the 1991 census was 3,538.
Much as the population and geography statistics are fascinating, it is quite widespread knowledge that Islay is resident to no less than 8 whisky distilleries. The distinctive flavour of those fine Islay resident whiskies comes in part from the islands peatiness, and it is this dark brown water that is used in the distilling process.
The amusing story from this island's history comes from 180 odd years ago when many 'under cover' distilleries were legalized, but no duty on these whiskies was payable. The consequences, as you can imagine, were that Islay was a pretty merry place for some time. However, the local minister put a stop to the wide spread full-on festivities by demanding that the government do something about the situation. If you're after a bottle, Islay churns out around 4 million gallons of the stuff every year so it shouldn't be too difficult!
