Scapegrace Rise Limited Release I

Scapegrace Rise (Limited Release I) is a small batch New Zealand single malt produced in Central Otago, a high contrast region that encourages active cask interaction during maturation. Bottled at 46% ABV, it is presented without colouring and without chill filtration, and supplied in a gift box.

Rise is made using New Zealand Laureate barley, a modern malting variety chosen for reliable performance and a clean, cereal forward base spirit. In the finished whisky, that tends to show up as a crisp malt backbone that holds its shape when the cask influence gets more intense, rather than disappearing underneath sweetness and spice.

Maturation is in virgin French oak, and the cask type is central to how Rise tastes. Fresh oak carries a higher load of extractable compounds, so flavour builds quickly and firmly. Oak lactones contribute a creamy vanilla sweetness, while tannins and toasted wood compounds bring structure through cinnamon like spice, dryness and grip. That combination pushes the whisky toward a defined oak framed profile rather than a softer, multi cask blending style.

This is part of Scapegrace’s numbered chronological limited edition sequence, with a total outturn of 4,548 bottles. The Master Distillers behind the release are Doug Lawry and Anthony Lawry, and the flavour profile stays consistent with the cask choice: fresh fruit and vanilla on the nose, richer creamy notes and buttery toast on the palate, and a long warming finish driven by oak spice.