Raasay Na Sia Single Cask Series 5 Years Old 2018

This Isle of Raasay single malt from the Na Sia Single Cask Series, a 5 year old release, distilled in 2018, from cask 18/721 and bottled at 59.9%. The Isle of Raasay Distillery, opened in 2017, is the first legal distillery on its tiny Hebridean island. Long fermentations of up to five days build a sweet blackberry note before the spirit meets the cask.

It was worked through a lantern wash still with a cooling jacket and a swan neck spirit still, following a fermentation as long as 118 hours, drawing out a dark berry sweetness. A red wine cask lent blackberry, plum and a wine stained colour. Around five years brings a fuller, more integrated character. Quarter casks and first fill wood drive a fast, generous extraction at this young age. R&B Distillers set out to build a leading artisan distillery from a blank sheet. Every bottle is natural in colour and free of chill filtration.

At its natural 59.9% it is concentrated. The wine cask adds blackberry, plum and a red berry lift, with a soft island smoke behind. Soft fruit and a clean malt sit behind the sweetness. The close is warm, fruit over soft oak. This is Raasay's fresh, fruit driven island style.