Ex-Woodford Reserve Rye cask, Ex-Bordeaux red wine cask and Virgin Chinkapin Oak cask.
Isle of Raasay Distillery
The first legal distillery on the Isle of Raasay in northwest Scotland, with a vision to create the finest Hebridean single malt Scotch whisky and a unique whisky destination with arguably the best view from any distillery in Scotland.
Raasay Distillery
Pioneering Island Distillery
Experience at first hand our exciting journey from revitalising an island landmark building, to harvesting the first Raasay barley for a generation, and handcrafting the first Isle of Raasay single malt in Scotch whisky history with water sourced from a Celtic well deep beneath the distillery.
Raasay Distillery
Unpeated Ex-Woodford Reserve Rye cask (33 months).
Appearance
This whisky is light gold in colour, white wine-ish, it beads up on the swirl line and drops faint medium thick legs.
Nose
Fizzy with ABV, and I’m into a bag of jelly beans, an aroma I love. There’s a fair amount of dustiness here too. I’m definitely getting wood varnish and polish, well toasted bread, grains/cereals, and tobacco leaves, very nice tbh. I’m now getting strawberries! And cherries, didn’t see them coming.
Yes I’d say jam too, apricot and a pear note 👍#thewhiskeychaps
— Dram it Mick! (@StillSurreal) April 11, 2021
I’m getting a lot of toasted bread and a tea note.#thewhiskeychaps
— Dram it Mick! (@StillSurreal) April 11, 2021
Palate
Now that’s nice, definitely strawberry jam, the toast is there too, but it’s spicy, no surprise with Ex rye. Cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, black coffee, dunnage, what a beautiful beast. I’m getting icing sugar coming through with raspberries, redcurrants, flat cola, pineapple cubes, a touch of cranberry drying.
Finish
Medium length finish, sweet and spicy combo, much like the palate, with a touch of salt and golden syrup right at the end.
My thoughts
After tasting the peated version the evening before, this unpeated version offered more on the nose and palate, much more accessible imho. I really enjoyed this, full of flavours i like, and i think it would make a good bottle, i could certainly sit and sip it regularly.
Unpeated Ex-Bordeaux Red wine cask (34 months).
Appearance
This whisky is Amber with a deep orange hue, it also beads up on the swirl line, and fast medium legs.
Nose
More red fruits here, red berries with red apple skins, and it’s making my eyes water tbh. Definitely jam again, and perhaps strawberry tea. Old style shoe polish and liquorice. Again strawberries are pushing forward, could be new make.
Deeper and darker, I can’t pick between these first two tbh.#thewhiskeychaps
— Dram it Mick! (@StillSurreal) April 11, 2021
Palate
Very very red fruits forward, with a sweet/ slightly bitter mixture. Strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, cranberries again, red delicious apples skins, and lots of them. The more I sip the more fruit I get, it’s packed with it, and quite sweet tbh. Heading towards the finish it moves into darker fruits, but the red fruits are still here too. Cloves, figs, dates and dark chocolate at the end of the palate.
This is a far nicer and more approachable palate for me. No underlying offputting elements in this. Just bursting with berries and buttery baking flavours #thewhiskeychaps
— Whisk(e)y Chap 🏴🥃 (@whiskeychap) April 11, 2021
Finish
Long side of medium, more spicy than sweet but still lots of red fruits, now with chilli’s, dark chocolate, black coffee, hot cinnamon, well toasted bread, a slight floral flourish, and a little perfume.
My thoughts
A super red berry and fruit bomb as expected, what i didn’t expect was the amount of darker fruits, and i think @whiskeychap was correct in wondering if it had been a full term maturation and not just a finish. I have to say that i enjoyed this as much as the Ex-Woodford reserve rye cask, but for different reasons. Again i could easily sit with this and sip it, and its very approachable at this strength.
Virgin Chinkapin Oak (31months).
Appearance
We are into chestnut and slightly oxidised copper regions of colour here, it also beads up on the swirl line, with slightly syrupy medium/thick legs.
Nose
A touch of eucalyptus here, again with red berries, it’s got dusty old bookshop all over it, old leather, while holding the glass slightly away from the nose there is a sweetness, but not in the glass. I’m really liking this nose, best of the 3 for me. Nicely married, dusty starburst sweets, and skittle sweets, linseed oil, old style glazing putty, grains/cereals, flapjack and cherry cheesecake.
Yeah that would work 👍#thewhiskeychaps
— Dram it Mick! (@StillSurreal) April 11, 2021
Palate
Nice mouthfeel, lots of cask interaction as there’s plenty of oak/wood. This is now jelly beans for me, quite spicy, blood oranges, a touch of drying, ginger, pomegranate, and getting spicier now. This is the best palate of the 3 for me, at 31 months old I’m sure we’re getting a helping of new make, but the effect of the cask has been very impactful even at 31 months, I could drink this regularly, and it’s good at this ABV too.
Just got the artificial fruit juices you get in sweets, lime, orange and strawberry. Opal fruits for me. Also the spice turns to chilli again #thewhiskeychaps
— Whisk(e)y Chap 🏴🥃 (@whiskeychap) April 11, 2021
Finish
Quite long, longest of the 3 we’ve tasted, much like the palate, fruit/spice combo, quite hot too. Chilli’s, hot cinnamon, and dark chocolate Orange finish it off nicely.
My thoughts
This has been my favourite of the unpeated samples, in fact it’s my favourite across all of the 6 samples we tasted over two evenings. At 31 months old it’s showing wonderful maturity and depth, and i’d definitely buy a bottle as it is now, by 3 years it could be even better. This sample was also my favourite of the bunch when i tasted it at just under 2 years old, it’s a really great spirit.
Overall tasting thoughts
To be honest i prefered these unpeated samples over their peated counterparts. The reason is that without the smoke the other aromas and flavours are more accessible, and also finer. Though i have to say that the peated samples were also very nice. I have tasted around 10 different new make spirits now, and would love to sample both the peated and unpeated from this distillery, i could very easily see it being up there with the best i have tasted.
