Isle of Raasay unveils inaugural single malt

Scotland’s Isle of Raasay Distillery has bottled the first legal single malt whisky from the Hebridean island.

The distillery has created 7,500 bottles of The Isle of Raasay Single Malt – Inaugural Release 2020, which was matured in first-fill Tennessee whiskey casks and finished in first-fill Bordeaux red wine casks. Alasdair Day, Isle of Raasay Distillery co-founder, said: “This is a really historic moment as the first legal Isle of Raasay Single Malt leaves the island for the first time. “We are very proud of our lightly peated island single malt, and our beautiful bottle that is made with clay moulds of Raasay’s rocks and fossils. It’s like a piece of the island in your hands." Bottled at natural colour and without the use of chill-filtration, the new expression has flavours of almond, hazelnut and sweet spice. The red wine casks add savoury spice flavours and “another layer of complexity and flavour” to the whisky. The single malt is packaged in a bespoke bottle that features fossils and rocks from the island moulded into the glass. The inaugural release is bottled at 52% ABV. Priced at £99 (US$131) per 700ml bottle, The Isle of Raasay Single Malt – Inaugural Release 2020 will be available in the UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Switzerland, the Philippines, South Africa, Canada, South Korea, Japan, and China.