Isle of Raasay Distillery Core Release Sample 59-61%
Vatting of all casks, 50/50 Peated/ Unpeated spirit.
Tasted: Feb 2021
The nose kicks off with the grippy, edgy dark spices of the Chinkapin cask with hints of sweet vanilla, fleshy apricot, earthy peat and subtle rose petal marc and winey fruit. With time the aromas become quite herbal and salty.
The palate opens with the earthy peat and sweet vanilla. Again, there is a touch of rose petal marc and stouty/ chocolate malt on the middle. Masked but malty finish with a very spicy Chinkapin oak finish with a touch of winey fruit and peat.
Water brings out the sweet vanilla and apricot, which knocks back the spicy Chinkapin character. Still youthful and intense with dusty peat and salt. The palate is also sweeter with more vanilla but the grippy tannins are more noticeable. Earthy peat, salt and dark spice follow with a touch of winey red/ black fruit. Lovely balance and length with the peat carrying through until the end.
Isle of Raasay Distillery Ex-Woodfords Reserve Rye Cask 59-61%
Unpeated Spirit
Cask Sample aged 33 months/ Tasted: Feb 2021
The nose is aromatic and warm with chocolaty malt, herbal rye, barley and a touch of soft, fleshy apricot. With time straw and youthful rose petal marc.
The palate is oily, malty and barley’d. There is less of an overt rye cask character which allows the white fruit and spice to show. Again, a tad youthful and masked with a mouth-watering, lightly herbal spice and young spirit finish.
Water makes the nose softer. There is a lot less cask influence, just some delicate vanilla, toffee, fresh white fruit, hyacinth, fresh rose petal, citrus and subtle salt notes now. The palate is still oily and a little fuller than the nose as it displays more barley and fleshy apricot. Hints of citrus, white fruit and herbal rose petal marc. Juicy, mouth-filling finish with lingering herbal spice and straw.
Isle of Raasay Distillery Ex-Virgin Chinkapin Oak Cask 59-61%
Unpeated Spirit
Cask Sample aged 31 months/ Tasted: Feb 2021
The nose is darker and spicier than the rye cask sample. Tobacco, burnt wood spice, gritty tannin and subtle herbal rose petal marc. Unsurprisingly there is a lot of oak. With time some almost stouty dark fruit and chocolate malt notes appear.
The palate is very woody and spicy with plenty of dark spice and tannin, Again the spirit shows it’s youth with a touch of rose petal marc but the stouty chocolate malt notes balance, Masked and intensely spicy finish. In fact, it feels like the spices are biting my tongue off!
Water makes the nose less woody and more herbal. Hints of straw-like apricot and vanilla show now but its still very edgy and spicy. The palate is also less woody with more of the straw-like apricot noticeable. Sweet vanilla and white chocolate appear. Long, oily, herbal and spirity but still very spicy.
Isle of Raasay Distillery Ex-Bordeaux Red Wine Cask 59-61%
Unpeated Spirit
Cask Sample aged 34 months/ Tasted: Feb 2021
The nose is intense and winey with raw red/black fruit and hints of straw, pepper, rose petal marc and slightly grippy tannins. Unlike the previous two samples there seems like a lot less oak interaction as the cask is possibly larger? With time the fruit notes become almost fortified in character.
The palate is very youthful with loads of rose petal marc spirit and subtle winey red/black fruit. Again, not a huge amount of oak interaction makes it feel very raw and alcoholic. Masked, raw spirit, tannic finish with camphor, mint and green peppercorn.
Water brings out sea salt on the nose and makes the fruit sweeter and syrup coated. It also brings out a shredded wheat and malt note. The palate is still youthful. Again, the wine notes are subtler, but sweeter. Longer, fruity, straw-like finish with lingering softer tannins.
Isle of Raasay Distillery Ex-Woodfords Reserve Rye Cask 59-61%
Peated Spirit (48-52PPM)
Cask Sample aged 36 months/ Tasted: Feb 2021
The nose displays plenty of sweet and earthy peat along with a touch of salt, iodine and sweet vanilla. Like the unpeated sample there are some chocolate malt/ stout notes and subtle herbal rye notes.
The palate also displays plenty of smoky, herbal and earthy peat. There is a touch of raw herbal spirit and vanilla on the middle. Vey masked finish with a searing raw spirit/ alcohol finish. Pleasant earthy, herbal peat after-taste.
Water makes the peat a little sweeter and brings out notes of heather, sweet vanilla toffee and subtle straw-like fruit notes. The palate feels younger with a more noticeable rose petal marc character. Still quite earthy and salty, although it’s less peaty and vanilla’d. Long, earthy, loamy finish with lingering sweet rose petal spirit.
Isle of Raasay Distillery Ex-Virgin Chinkapin Oak Cask 59-61%
Peated Spirit (48-52PPM)
Cask Sample aged 33 months/ Tasted: Feb 2021
Intense aromas of dark spice and darker peat. The virgin oak appears to have emphasised the earthiness and saltiness of the spirit. There’s more tannin and grippy spice, along with slightly herbal peat and chocolate malt/ stouty notes.
The palate is quite tannic, drying and very earthy with peat, spice and pepper. Underneath some sweet apricot fruit and sweet vanilla can be discerned. Intense, salty and peaty finish with a touch of loamy spice and alcohol!
Water makes the peat sweeter and makes the oak notes sweeter too. More vanilla and fleshy apricot fruit. The palate is much like the nose, sweeter with more vanilla, toffee and fleshy fruit. The peat isn’t as intense but it drier, smokier and sootier, Long and juicy with lingering fleshy fruit and peat.
Isle of Raasay Distillery Ex-Bordeaux Red Wine Cask 59-61%
Peated Spirit (48-52PPM)
Cask Sample aged 35 months/ Tasted: Feb 2021
The nose displays an intensity of earthy peat and herbal black/ red fruit. Like the unpeated cask there is plenty of rose petal marc and raw spirit character.
The palate is raw, intense and herbal with again plenty of rose petal marc spirit, earthy/ dry peat and grippy tannins. The winey fruits are subtle, and the finish is masked, mouth-watering and alcoholic with lingering raw spirit and earthy peat.
Even with a drop of water the nose is still pretty raw with plenty of herbal spirit character. The wine cask influence is a lot lessened. The palate is likewise raw and spirity with subtle winey fruit. Again, there is less peat but it’s tarry and earthier. Camphor notes in the aftertaste.
Raasay While We Wait 46%
R&B Distillers pre distillery unspecified Single malt distilled from lightly peated barley and has finished in a selection of red wine casks in order to give an impression of what the Raasay single malt will be like.
Tasted: Feb 2016
The nose is very earthy and loamy with sweet barley, malt and sweet peat smoke. Lovely depth with the alcohol balancing the sweetness. With time hints of rosemary and heather.
Full and sweet on the palate with barley, burnt heather, light coffee, honey and creamy oak. Like the nose the alcohol balances the sweetness. Long with lingering sweet malt, burnt heather and earthy peat. In conclusion: A very pleasant Highland whisky which reminds me of Glen Garioch, which isn’t a bad thing!
Raasay While We Wait 46%
Re-Tasted: Jan 2019
A little raw with green cereal on the nose and hints of hard toffee, peat smoke, heather and ascetic, pulped Mezcal-like white fruit.
The palate is slightly waxy and oily with burnt heather, burnt wood, industrial barley and hints of sulphury spirit on the middle, along with some bitter spice. Hot and spicy finish with the oak seriously bittering. Subtle treacle and wood smoke finish. I seriously hope that their own spirit is a lot better than this!
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 