Isle of Raasay Single Malt Batch R-01

I first tried this back in October last year, it was not a good experience. Tried in a liquor store from their tasting table I have been left wondering if the bottle was a bit suspect because I keep hearing good things about this liquid. I very much wanted to love this whisky, the bottle is steeped in geology with a cross section of the islands geology on the label depicting the Jurassic sandstones through which their water flows, and an ammonite formed into the bottle itself. This feels like a whisky marketed directly to me. My disappointment at a bad experience was profound. I am grateful to the Wise One @cascode for sending me this dram and another chance to find something special. Going to preface this by saying that I’ve left my original notes below for transparency, but this isn’t the same whisky from just pouring this I am convinced that bottle had been left open or in the sun, or something. PSA: Look after your bottles people. N: Beautifully cool smoke brings a delicate balance of phenols, florals and hearty smoke. This is a bonfire in a flower meadow at sunset. There is vanilla, and honey, and fresh white bread. There are the vaguest touches of brine and heather. It’s not particularly deep or complex but it is soft, cooling, and delightfully delicate to the point that I think a whisper would throw off the balance. P: A slightly muddled and grainy texture to the entry that gives off quite a heavy salt and vegetal peat. Successive sips soften things out and there is a medium body with a little earthiness. The salt remains and the vegetal notes subside a little. Smoke is warm and slightly like a smoky campfire bread with dark honey, that is I suspect the underlying malt speaking. This feels a little dark with some raw sugar cane sweetness and a good heft of pepper and dry tannins. F: Medium-short. Malt forward with sustained but not overpowering pepper and a sharply drying tannin-smoke medley. Thank you @cascode, I am very glad to have now tried this as it was meant to be experienced. This is a fantastic new entry from a young distillery. The nose is the star of the show for me with the palate being a fairly fun of the mill smoky malt. There is nothing inherently wrong here at all, it is a carefully crafted liquid, peated and unseated malt matured each in the same three barrel types, in years to come I think this will really start to shine with more depth and subtlety in the palate and temperance in the finish that will compliment the beautiful nose. If a bottle ended up on my shelf I would not mind at all. Distiller whisky taste #84 [Pictured here with an Asteroceras ammonite from Dorset, UK. This 190 million year old fossil from the Jurassic is a nod to Rassay’s ammonite embossedbottle and the Jurassic aquifers that their source waters flow through.] *** Original review: October 7th 2022, 1.75/5 N: raw peat, powerful smoke punches into the nose, but there is feinty and acrid undertone that is seriously off putting. Maybe theres some cereal and vanilla and tannins but mostly its smoke and evernote and then, smacked with something that pulls me away to refresh. P: Raw, mulchy vegetal peat. if you’ve ever eaten a mouthful of peat or mud falling face first into a scottish hillside, you’ll get this. The smoke is fresh and unrefined and way to overpowering. There are some apple and caramel notes but they are weakly apparent at best. Maybe a hint of spice? Everything is too young, unrefined and unmarried. F: Short, earthy peat smack. Maybe some salty tannins.

Nose: Gentle, soft smoke that is half-way between peat-reek and a bonfire of burning leaves, grass clippings and heather from a flower garden. It has notes of vanilla, honey, steamed asparagus and demure citrus fruit and there is a touch of maritime brine to the nose as well. Overall it is reminiscent of Highland Park crossed with Old Pulteney and it’s fresh, light and very agreeable. Palate: Maritime salt up front with vegetal and herbal flavours supported by light smoke. As it develops some sweetness emerges but it’s not sugary, instead it has the sweet/sour taste of baked cereals (rye bread? pumpernickel?) with a touch of molasses balanced by artichoke brine and black pepper. It’s earthy in character but there is also an intriguing tannic red wine note – just a hint – drifting about. The texture is pleasant but not particularly creamy or full. Finish: Medium. Malt, cereal, cracked black pepper and barley sugar with a zephyr of peat smoke in the aftertaste along with some brisk, drying tannins. A very pleasant and well-balanced malt whisky. It is youthful but in no way faulty or inferior because of that. It reminds me of many other maritime, mildly smoky young whiskies. This release was a blend of peated and unpeated malts from Raasay, each of which was matured in a combination of three casks. The wood selection was excellently chosen and has produced a young whisky that has a coquettish flair and just enough cask influence. You certainly could not say this is cask dominated or even cask driven, as the distillate character shines through clearly. It also develops in the glass, starting out very crisp but developing depth and complexity as it rests. It’s delightful neat but in the interests of science I added a dash of water to the dram. This flattened the nose quite a bit (which is not unusual for a young peated whisky) and brought out more sweetness while rounding off the peppery spices. It was interesting to try it that way, and arguably it makes the whisky easier to enjoy, but I thought it lost something in the process. I’m mentally adding Isle of Raasay to my growing list of new Scottish distilleries to follow and sample regularly in future. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

Well... this was dissapointing. Raasay is one of the Hebidrean Islands new distilleries (the other one is Torabhaig), and i saw this bottle in auctions since the very first day it was released. The incredible good looking bottle has been made to resemble the rugged terroir of Raasay Isle, which in part is responsible for this single malt flavor (allegedly). This whisky has been matured using a mixture of 6 barrels, divided in two categories: peated and unpeated. The three unpeated whiskies are matured in the same type of casks of the peated whiskies: ********* oak (a type of american white oak), Bordeaux Casks, and Rye barrels. Everything here promises a nice complexity, including the 46.4%abv of the final product. Well, lets see how it went: On the nose, a little winey and peated, nice mixture but not overly appealing. Starts with what you could define as a Blackberry peat. Winey, raw meat; a little stinky. A lot of Rye and cereal aromas. Wet trees and tylenol pills. After a first sip it gave me grapes and gooseberries. On the palate, it is your classical rye whisky. Super ricey, raw rice. It tastes exactly as the rice you have just put into the rice electric pot with water. Feels organic, with a nice rye spiciness. A second sip tasted exactly as sugar corn flakes with milk. Aftertaste was simple, and dull. Dry , rye, rice and sugar syrup. Overall, this young malt has a long way to go. It felt very raw for some moments, which is not something that i necessarily dislike, since i like strong, "punch in the face" drams; but in this case what felt most strange, was the excesive rye profile, making it feel like an american whiskey. It wasn't really maritime, nor it felt like something that came from 6 casks or a rugged island. I believe that it is not a bad dram, and maybe in ten more years they will have something really surprising, but right now this whisky needs less cask experiments and more maturation. My score for it is 77 over 100.

NAS 46,4% No chill-filtered No coloring Nose: Fresh, youthful with notes of brine, lemongrass, pickles, minerals, and dry dark fruits, including prunes. The presence of peat is noticeable, though its intensity varies depending on your exposure to and experience with peat. From the aroma alone, you can tell that this is an island whisky. Palate: Features oak and spices, presenting a not sharp but distinctly youthful profile, complemented by the sweetness of ripe peaches. Little bit of oak at the background. Finish: A combination of minerals, white pepper, and honeycomb creates a unique closing note. The casks used are quite interesting: "Two Isle of Raasay spirits – peated and unpeated – are matured separately in first fill Rye whiskey, fresh oak and first fill Bordeaux red wine casks. These six recipe casks marry together to create the perfect dram with real elegance, complexity and depth of character." Love the proof level. I wouldn't recommend this whisky as an introduction to peat for newcomers. I'm pleased with the experience and would happily accept a bottle as a gift.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 9th July 2021). Nose: Wood smoke, baking spice, nutmeg, toasted pine nuts, plum, cherry and light peat. Palate: Salty, gentle peat smoke, creamy/buttery, stewed dark fruit, malt loaf/rye bread, caramel, vanilla, black pepper. Finish: Medium long finish. Toasted oak, buttery caramel, gentle peat and smoke. Earthy notes. Slightly drying. This has a wonderfully gentle Island character. It’s a very warming dram, with a creamy buttery mouthfeel. The peat is more than a hint, but is a gentle note rather than the punchy Islay style. A very tasty and nicely balanced dram.

I’m delighted to have tried this new gem from the Isle of Raasay. Thanks for sharing, Alex. The nose is spritely, with notes of springtime moss and coneflower lifting from the glass. Given the youthfulness of the whisky, its taste is malty and pleasantly wort driven. Flavors of yellow pear, fresh lemon zest, and sunflower seed arrive as the scotch comes to the cooler outdoor temperature. The finish is barley-centric and ozonic. Raasay has offered the best first-batch, young scotch I’ve ever tasted, and, already reminiscent of Tobermory and Arran, it promises to be a worthy peer among the Hebrides distilleries.