Raasay While We Wait

This one really is subjectively good - and for me it is really good. It definitely needs some sips and time for you to grasp or even understand. Its uniqueness might be separating - it is either you love it or you dislike it. I personally am really fond of it and am so happy my whisky dealer recommended it to me. Nose: It is buttery and has some really ripe sweet grapes to it. I also get some mushy apple pie aromas with a burned sugar crust. You also get the light peat directly from the start which is more in the background as part of the foundation. I also get some aromas of soft nougat chocolate. Palate: next to the peat, the sweet grapes and some early summer berries and fruits you get some soft cheese aromas. It may sound weird but it is like a mild Camembert or creme cheese with walnuts. It is not easy to define but this makes it so interesting. In general it is very sweet but definitely has some sourness as well. Aftertaste: The whisky lies on the tongue for a long time and fills your nose even after swallowing it for quiet some time with some buttery baked goods and the sweet grapes remaining. The peat is the first and the last aroma you get from this one. You go through so many different impression that you have to refill your glas again and again with the intend to sort in what you got from the previous dram. It is a rollercoaster from the coast - with the courage to try something really different - in which Raasay distillery in my eyes really succeeded. It really is a special whisky and I can’t wait for Raasays first 3y old batch this year. If this is what we can hope for, we are in for something really special, which will vibrantly enhance the scotch single malt scene.

Raasay is one of the two new distilleries of the hebrides Islands, and this expression called "while we wait" is prequel single malt, released before their actual inaugural release (which wasn't very good i have to say). I believe this malt has been matured for 3 years in tuscan red wines and bottled at 46%abv, with a burnished gold color. On the nose, it is complex but a little weird. Raw rice, salt, bbq sauce and burnt rubber are the first tasting notes i can perceive. After a first sip, the aroma changed into chocolate, salt, gooseberries and glazed ham. It has a winey profile, with hints of caramel somewhere. On the palate, it passed the test. Starts spicy, then releases this red fruit / strawberry flavor with some sulphur note surrounding it. Vanilla, gooseberries. Aftertaste is mildlt peaty, but it is not smokey. Rubber, salt, pepper and gooseberries. Raw rice. It is dry and not very long. Not bad though. Overall, this wasn't a very balanced dram. It felt like it was young and all over the place. I would like to try more from this novice distillery in about 8 years to experience a more matured and consistent dram. My score for it is a 78 over 100.

Sample from their Virtual Whisky Tasting on 11th June 2020. The tasting introduced the 6 spirit styles they intend to use for their first release from the distillery due in 2021. The 6 styles are peated and unpeated versions using three distinct cask types - Rye whiskey, Chinkapin oak, and Bordeaux red wine. The While We Wait has been produced in an unnamed Highland distillery “in the West Highlands near a very big loch”, but is designed to be the flavour profile of the whisky they will be producing from their own distillery. Upfront, the whisky does taste young, but it has a very smooth, creamy (almost buttery) character. There are light, smooth smoke and dark fruit notes, which mellows into a dry, tannic (slightly citrus) finish. This is quite an interesting whisky that has a quality feel to it for such a young spirit. It’s not quite there yet for my palate, but I’m looking forward to seeing what their own production is like next year.

I've always been fond of whisky but still consider myself a novice. This is my first attempt of a review. This one comes damn near my favorite, Kilkerran 12 yo. Nose: To me the nose (and palate) is like a distant bonfire - the smoke is there in your nose and palate but not overwhelming. I get some grape or citrus fruit and either strawberry or raspberry and caramel. Palate: a smooth peat (only recently enjoying peat). I get pepper or chili with notes of licorice and vanilla not to mention either grape or citrus. I got a really nice butterscotch tasting to. Adding a few drops of water I got much more pepperish and licorice to the palate (wich is not bad when you are a dane). Aftertaste: long lasting vanilla, butterscotch, slight peat and some pepper and licorice. Being a beginner at peated whisky I enjoy this a lot. To me this whisky has a complex palate, with peat and a pleasent butterscotch. I enjoyed it with or without water.

Nose: extremely floral with deep red wine notes of cherry, blackberry, and smoked leather. Sugary vanilla, caramel, and burnt oak. Lemongrass and orange. It can coalesce into smoked meat with a sweet BBQ sauce, almost cola like. There is a light background layer of honey. Taste: densely sweet honey and vanilla with strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. Tobacco, leather and shiitake mushrooms. Light honey and malt. Water brings out sharpness and oak with some buried fruit notes. The peat is extremely light, most of the dense and tobacco notes are from the wine cask

2018 release. This whiskey is delicious and right in my wheelhouse with malt, honey, caramel, vanilla, berries, red wine and mild peat on the nose and palate. The palate is semi-sweet, slightly creamy and has a little heat, smoke and spice which carry over to the medium finish.