Bowmore Hotel Restaurant — Restaurant in Scotland

Peter has amassed the single best Islay single malt collection in the world. Walking into Lucci's Whisky Bar (the name for the nook of a bar within the Bowmore Hotel Restaurant) is like peeking inside the home of a slightly eccentric but highly organized hoarder, except the contents are rare and exclusive Islay bottles. And bear in mind, what you see at the bar isn't even half of his collection, as it's hidden behind the bar, in the cellar, even down the street! Bunnahabin hand fills or Lagavulin Feis Ile releases from decades ago line display cases in the hotel hallways.

If you're going to Islay to drink whisky, stay at the Bowmore Hotel, eat a delicious dinner (the lamb!) and spend an evening drinking scotch with Peter. I promise he'll teach something to even the most accomplished Islay fan.

For example, you know Ardbeg 10? Of course you do, or you wouldn't be traveling to Islay and reading this review. But have you done a flight of Ardbeg 10's, bottled across decades going back to the 1980's, the see how this single product evolved based on the distilling methods at Ardbeg during that particular period? See the photo of Peter holding court. This is next level scotch appreciation.

Make sure Peter is around, and go to Lucci's Whisky Bar your very first night on Islay. What you learn from an evening with Peter will improve the rest of your Islay distillery visits immensely.

Three people in the bar that evening were international travelers who were repeat visitors at Lucci's, who had emailed ahead with special requests from Peter's hidden stash. He's like the preeminent Islay...

Came here on our first night for dinner and the food was really good! Had the lamb chops with a red wine gravy which was delicious. The atmosphere in the bar / restaurant is also great as people just chat with you.

What really made our visit was meeting Peter jr, the manager. He is super friendly and very knowledgeable about whisky

We came back the second night to try some whiskies at the in-house Whisky Bar Lucci’s There is a huge Whisky Bible with all kinds of different Islay Whiskies, but the great thing is that you can also tell Peter what you are looking for and you will end up with a great dram!

We also quickly saw the rooms which look lovely and cozy, so we will definitely be back for a stay, great chats and more lovely Islay Whisky! Thank you Peter for an amazing...

We came here for an unplanned early dinner at the end of a long day exploring Islay. It was fully booked but the host nicely offered a table at the bar, we decided to sit on the terrace enjoying the sun. Food was amazing, we had oysters and scallops, followed by burger with haggis. Fair prices given the quality. The host (Peter jr) is amazing, super friendly and welcoming service. They have a fair selection of local ales, and, most importantly, an amazing selection of whiskies, where, again, the host is very helpful in guiding your choice. I could only try one dram, but I would have probably preferred a whisky flight here, after a nice meal, compared to some of the distillery tours/tasting. I hope to...