Raasay Lightly Peated R-01.2

A distillery release of Isle of Raasay and bottled at 46.4%. The Isle of Raasay Distillery opened in 2017, the first legal still on an island with a long history of illicit distilling. The Italian built stills nod to the distillery's continental leanings in cask choice.

It was drawn off a lantern wash still and a straight necked spirit still, following a long ferment that lends the new make a blackberry lift. A red wine cask lent blackberry, plum and a wine stained colour. With no age statement, it shows the bright, fruit driven style of a young island malt. Virgin oak and first fill casks layer vanilla and spice over the bright distillate. Long five day fermentations coax a sweet blackberry note from the wash. The Italian built stills give the new make its clean, fruity backbone. R&B Distillers set out to build a leading artisan distillery from a blank sheet.

At an approachable 46.4% it is bright and balanced. The wine cask adds blackberry, plum and a red berry lift over a gentle wisp of peat. The mouthfeel is round, the berry fruit carried on a sweet body. The finish is deep, spiced and rounded. This is a lively single malt from the Inner Hebrides.