IT’S that time of the year when people come into the store looking for that most elusive of whiskies: a decent Islay Malt.

I say elusive because, despite there only being nine distilleries, there are literally hundreds of different Islay malts, some of which even I have to admit are superb but there are lots for which the best description is hospital floor cleaner.

There is an underlying pungent pong to all Islays, but some manage to carry a decent flavour to the palate in addition to the classic cough medicine and iodine.

Islay whisky – as you might have guessed – is all made on the Isle of Islay off the west coast of Scotland and it is also one of the five denominated distilling regions of Scotland. The charismatic aroma and flavours of heavy smoke come from the peat that the island seems to be made of and they also tend to have hints of salt and seaweed imparted by the heavy coastal winds that get into everything on the Isle.

The distilleries on Islay are Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Caol lla, Kilchoman (brand new in 2005 and the first new one since 1881), Lagavullin, Laphroaig and Port Charlotte.

Probably the most popular commercial distillery in terms of name and marketing is Laphroaig which is now owned by the US/Japanese company Beam Suntory. I was going to tell you how the name came about but the more I read the more bored I got – I mean seriously, how many people give a monkey’s about the Gaelic name of the nearby bay and how it got mixed up with elements of the Nordic language? I used to think men who wear flat caps while driving were boring but experts in names and places have just taken the crown.

Laphroaig was opened in 1815, making it one of the oldest commercial distilleries in Scotland and is the only whisky to carry a Royal Warrant (which it got in 1994 off the Prince of Wales). If you are interested in trying his favourite tipple it’s the 15-year-old – but sadly they no longer make it!

The big boast of the distillery is that it makes the most strongly-flavoured of all whiskies by which it really means ‘our malts reek!’ I mentioned in the first paragraph that even I had to contend that some Islays were rather good in my opinion but I should stress that’s just my opinion although it’s based on the known fact that I have rather good nasal passages and fairly active tastebuds!

The ones I admit to liking a little are the Distillers edition from Lagavulin, Caol Ila 1991 bottled by Coopers Choice, Ardbeg Galileo (cask strength) and the Bowmore 25-year-old. Not many really from such a prolifically productive region but Islay really is one of the Marmite regions of the Whisky world and I tend to find that fans of the style love all whiskies whereas those who generally struggle with the peat tend to focus on Speyside Malts alone.

The Distillers Edition from Lagavulin was a one-off production distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2014 having been finished (final ageing) in Pedro Ximenez Casks from Sherry. You may remember me waxing lyrical about the PX style of Sherry and how rich and concentrated the style is so you can imagine the wonderful effect that has on a nicely aged malt. It imparts hints of raisins and chocolate to the back end of the malt and tempers some of the otherwise overpowering smokiness of the Lagavulin. Well worth a try but expect to pay in excess of £75.

Coopers Choice is a range of privately-bottled malts owned by the Vintage Malts Whisky Company and they age and bottle a small but fairly eclectic range of whiskies. What I like about them is that they rarely do the same thing twice, which from a retail point of view makes them fabulous for small shops and impossible to deal with for supermarkets.

The 1991 Caol Ila , for example, produced three ages, 19, 20 and 21, all of which are slightly different but the one I enjoyed best was the 20-year-old. I love their own tasting note so I’ll use theirs rather than mine: “Peat and brine with driftwood and vanilla floating beneath leading to a caramel-led palate that retains that smokiness. The finish is long and warming with notes of nutmeg and wood smoke”. If this floats your boat for Christmas, expect to pay around £65 to £69.

Ardbeg Galileo got me interested because of the rather unusual name and method of aging. A small amount of the malt was sent into space in 2012 before being added back into the barrels so it’s no surprise that the Malt was named at the British Space Centre (I was going to say launched but thought that a bit obvious!)

The Galileo is aged in a mix of Marsala and Bourbon casks, both of which tend to add a level of sweetness and caramel that comes out very strongly in the final malt. It also happens to be one of the most aromatic malts with pineapple and coconut aromas backed up by toffee and then an explosion of smoky peat. On the palate there’s an addictive salty touch that lingers long after the other flavours have gone.

Sadly this one is all gone commercially although they do occasionally turn up at auction. The last one I saw was over £100 but the price of this one will continue to rocket (sorry, couldn’t help myself after earlier restraint).

I’ve kept my best until last in the Bowmore 25-year-old 43% . There are a number of 25-year-old expressions of Bowmore but the one by the distillery itself is my choice and is absolutely breath-taking. Twenty-five years is a heck of a long time for any product to age in oak and the result in this case is a mix of dark fruits and herbs on the nose with masses of caramel, smoke, cocoa and nuts on the palate.

I can’t even begin to describe how deeply layered are the flavours in this malt and they continue to develop for as long as you hold it on your tongue. It has a lovely chocolate finish with hints of pepper at the end but it just seems to go on and on. Don’t expect much change out of £300, though.

So there you are: This is one tiny island with a miniscule population and yet it has a gigantic hold on the world’s whisky trade, so hats off to Islay.