Origin: Isle of Raasay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 46.4%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Rye, Chinkapin and ex-Red Wine
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: R&B Distillers
Average price: € 60.00
Official website: raasaydistillery.com
Let’s go back in time a little, to June 2022, with this third release of the distillery’s base malt, which, given the reduced production, is numbered progressively and annually, a bit like Ardnamurchan: starting with R-01 and R-02 (June and September 2021, respectively), arriving in 2024 with R-01.3.1 (July), R-01.3.2 and R-02.3.1 (July and August), for a total of nine releases.
Is there a big difference between one release and the next? They all start from a mixture of peated and unpeated malts, the combination of casks is always the same, that is new Chinkapin oak casks, ex-rye casks and ex-Bordeaux wine casks, all first-fill, but changing their proportions, the type of barley used and the fermentation times.
For this edition, we are at 65% ex-rye, 25.5% chinkapin and 9.5% ex-wine, with Concerto barley, fermentation between three and five days, distillation (with a tight cut of the heart) between May 2018 and February 2019, blending of the aged casks in April 2022 and finally bottling between April and June of the same year.
As you can see, total transparency, even on the peat values: initial between 48 and 52ppm, residual in the bottle at 7.8ppm.
With all these data, it makes you want to drink…
Tasting Notes
On the nose, the cereal-yoghurt component is noticeable, with an equally pronounced malt component that fades into the background after the initial attack. Soon take the stage marmalade notes of pear, quince and red berries (blueberries, raspberries), the latter in the minor key, accompanied by custard, almond candy and a distant whiff of burnt wood smoke. Simple but nicely charged up.
On the palate, the spices come first, a lively pepperiness with a hint of ginger and nutmeg that introduces a discreetly creamy body in which the smoke gains substance without overdoing it, caressing the palate with an arboreal peatiness. On a mineral vein, a drape of cereals (malt and rye), walnuts, baked apple, pear, cranberry, liquorice root, custard (with plenty of lemon), wood shavings and a sprinkling of salt and iodine unfolds, especially along the length.
The finish is not very long, with wood, spice, smoke, baked apple, vegetable and marine notes.
Raasay’s proves to be an interesting whisky even when it’s still so young; having put aside all the sins of youth, it shows character and personality, just waiting to develop with time.
Vote: 84/100