Diageo has announced that its iconic Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Lagavulin™ is sponsoring this year’s Islay Jazz Festival.

The Islay Jazz Festival is a well-established annual event that takes place over a weekend in September, attracting hundreds of jazz lovers to Islay from Scotland, the rest of the United Kingdom, and overseas. The dates of this year’s Festival are 17 – 19 September.

The event will now be known as the Lagavulin Islay Jazz Festival http://www.islayjazzfestival.co.uk/

The events of the Festival are spread over three days and many venues on Islay. In 2010 the Festival programme features the lyrical pianism of Zoe Rahman; the feel-good saxophone of Jesse Davis; the Blue Note inspired Mercy, Mercy, Mercy; award-winning Scottish guitarist Graham Stephen; the commanding tenor of John Burgess; and a new take on 1920s and 30’s jazz from Nova Scotia Jazz Band. Concerts are presented across the island, in a mix of unique settings: village halls, distilleries, bird sanctuaries, and small bars and inns. Three of the events will be staged at Lagavulin Distillery.

Commenting on behalf of Lagavulin™ and Diageo’s Classic Malts Selection™, Nick Morgan (Diageo’s Scotch Knowledge and Heritage Manager) said:

“We are absolutely delighted to be able to sponsor this world-class festival, which brings so many discerning jazz lovers to venues throughout Islay, which has to be one of the world’s most seductive islands. Crafted with skill, love and inspiration, live jazz and fine Malt Whisky are the best of partners, enhancing enjoyment, relaxation, community and good companionship.”

Fiona Alexander of promoters Assembly Direct in Edinburgh welcomed the new sponsorship by Lagavulin:

“The Festival is delighted to be supported by such a fine Islay Whisky and iconic brand. Its virtues of quality character, complexity and rootedness in its landscape are ones which the Festival aspires towards”.

THE ISLAY JAZZ FESTIVAL

The Festival has been running since 1999, and until this year was sponsored by Black Bottle, the brand of blended Scotch Whisky that incorporates seven Islay Single Malts.

The Festival began when Stuart Todd of Islay Arts Association called Fiona Alexander of Assembly Direct to get a phone number for a musician he wanted to book. In the following conversation the seed of the Festival was germinated.

In its twelve year history the Festival has promoted musicians from over 25 countries and presented fifteen world premieres and it today regarded as a significant jazz event in the UK calendar.

LAGAVULIN™

Lagavulin is one of Scotland’s “essential” distilleries, and a place of pilgrimage for many adorers of this definitive Islay Malt, for which demand heavily exceeds supply.

Here on the coast of Kildalton, the south-eastern edge of Islay, the distillery works its magic on a cramped, chaotic, wildly romantic site by the sea, looking across a small tight bay to the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle, a 13th century base of The Lords of the Isles.

It was in 1816 that John Johnston founded the first legal distillery at Lagavulin Bay: there had been many other illicit stills before that. As with all Scottish distilleries, it passed through the hands of different owners, including the celebrated Sir Peter Mackie, whose company became White Horse Distillers, forever associated with Lagavulin. White Horse Distillers joined The Distillers Company Ltd. (eventually Diageo) in 1927. In 1989, Lagavulin, now bottled at 16 years rather than the original 12, became one of the six Classic Malts™ of Scotland.

Among the highly successful variants of the regular 16 year old Lagavulin are the much-praised Lagavulin™ Distillers Edition™, finished in Pedro Jimenez Cask Wood.

Limited editions of 12, 21 and 25 year old expressions have also been released.