Raasay Na Sia Single Cask Series 2019 (61.6%)

An Isle of Raasay distillery bottling from the Na Sia Single Cask Series distilled in 2019, from cask 19/242 and bottled at 61.6%. Built by R&B Distillers, Raasay was the first legal distillery on the Isle of Raasay when it opened in 2017. The flagship marries peated and unpeated spirit from rye, Chinquapin oak and Bordeaux casks.

The spirit was made in the distillery's pot stills, fed by the Celtic well, after a long fermentation of up to five days that builds a sweet blackberry fruit. A first fill ex-Bourbon cask shaped it, rich in vanilla and toffee. Without an age statement, it is fresh, vibrant and cask forward. The young spirit takes colour and flavour readily from the active casks. Mineral rich water from the island well shapes the spirit before it meets the cask. The distillery does everything in house, from mashing to bottling, on the island. Long five day fermentations coax a sweet blackberry note from the wash.

At a full 61.6% it is deep and lively. The cask lends vanilla, baking spice and a honeyed sweetness. It is lively and deep, the cask and fruit well matched. A long, sweet finish carries a gentle smoke. This is a characterful young malt made wholly on its island.