Raasay Single Cask Series Cask #20/576

This official Isle of Raasay single malt, from cask 20/576 and bottled at 60.7%. The Isle of Raasay Distillery, opened in 2017, is the first legal distillery on its tiny Hebridean island. The Na Sia series, Gaelic for the six, bottles each of the six recipe casks as a single 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. Maturation in sherry quarter casks drove a fast, rich dried fruit character. Carrying no age, it leans on vivid fruit and active cask character. Island maturation in a small, careful operation keeps the spirit close to its source. 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 a full 60.7% it is deep and lively. The Oloroso brings dried fruit, fig and a nutty depth with a clean coastal lift behind. A bramble fruit and a warm spice run through. It finishes clean, fresh and fruity. This is the new wave of Hebridean whisky in a glass.