Raasay 4 Years Old 2021 (Ex-Bourbon)

A distillery release of Isle of Raasay, a 4 year old island malt, distilled in 2021 and bottled at 51%. Built by R&B Distillers, Raasay was the first legal distillery on the Isle of Raasay when it opened in 2017. Every drop is distilled, matured and bottled on the island, using water from a Celtic Iron Age well.

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. Only a few years old, it is fresh and lively, the active wood already deep. The cool, damp island air gives a gentle maturation close to the sea. 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.

Undiluted at 51%, it is powerful and fruity. The cask lends vanilla, baking spice and a honeyed sweetness over a gentle wisp of peat. The mouthfeel is round, the berry fruit carried on a sweet body. The finish runs sweet, spiced and lively. This is a lively single malt from the Inner Hebrides.