Raasay Single Quarter Cask 2021

This Isle of Raasay single malt, a Single Quarter Cask bottling distilled in 2021, from cask 21/1216 and bottled at 61.2%. The outturn was 156 bottles. Raasay is the first legal distillery on the Isle of Raasay, a small island in the Inner Hebrides off Skye. Long fermentations of up to five days build a sweet blackberry note before the spirit meets the cask.

The spirit was run through the distillery's Italian built pot stills on mineral rich island water, after slow fermentation with a two stage distillers and Champagne yeast. It was matured in ex-Bourbon American oak, lending vanilla and baking spice. With no age statement, it shows the bright, fruit driven style of a young island malt. Quarter casks and first fill wood drive a fast, generous extraction at this young age. First fill and virgin casks let this young spirit gain depth quickly. The distillery opened in 2017 and poured its first single malt in 2020.

At a natural 61.2% it is bold and full. The cask lends vanilla, baking spice and a honeyed sweetness, with a soft island smoke behind. Beneath it run blackberry, vanilla and a touch of spice. The close is warm, fruit over soft oak. This is a young, vibrant island malt from Raasay.