Peat and sea salt in the air: a visit to Laphroaig

Islay. Next to the only baggage carousel are rows of ageing shop windows displaying the island's pride and joy, the whisky bottles of all nine distilleries currently in operation: Once you enter the tiny arrivals hall of the airport on the Scottish Hebridean island of Islay, you have landed in the home of one of Scotland's top-selling whisky regions and the center for lovers of peaty Scotch, despite the tranquility of the place with its population of around 3,000. Falstaff paid a visit to the Laphroaig Distillery on the south coast and asked Distillery Manager Barry MacAffer for an interview.