Deconstructing a Single Malt: Isle of Raasay Tasting
Indianapolis, Indiana – Another specialty tasting is in the books, hosted by Storied Company. This time, they hosted William Dobbie of Isle of Raasay distillery as he dissected the variety of spirit and cask types that are brought together to create the distillery’s signature single malt whisky. We tried all 6 single cask options, and then we had a chance to taste their flagship single malt so that we could see how the pieces come together.
Raasay is still a relatively new distillery - it was founded in 2017, and the inaugural whisky release arrived the middle of 2021. Their whisky is still young - at the time of writing, they’ve just announced their first age stated releases, a series of 5 year old single casks. The operation is relatively small, with a capacity just over 200,000 liters of alcohol per annum.
The distillery is committed to quality presentation: all of their releases are not chill filtered, and there’s no added color. The base strength for their standard releases in 46.4% ABV, above the 46% that many whisky enthusiasts pursue, although many of the distillery’s whiskies also are bottled at higher strengths.
To add complexity and a rounded profile to the younger whisky, Raasay settled on a strategy of combining six different whisky types to build the core product. It’s all malt whisky of course, but they use two types of barley (peated and unpeated) and three cask types (ex-rye, ex-Bordeaux red wine, and virgin Chinkapin oak); this matrix yields the six total options that we tasted, which has been named the ‘Na Sia’ series by the distillery. All of the casks that are currently used are first-fill, so flavor extraction should be at a maximum for the younger spirit.
The barley used for their single malts originates in Scotland; for the three peated cask varieties, barley is smoked to a phenolic level between 48 and 52 ppm, and the fuel itself comes from the Black Isle in the Scottish highlands.
Here are a few more specifics for the casks involved:
The rye casks have mostly originated from Sagamore, and more recently, Woodford Reserve
The distillery requires that the staves of the Chinkapin oak casks they use be air-dried for at least 36 months
The virgin Chinkapin oak casks are both highly toasted and highly charred before use
Raasay Na Sia Single Cask: Peated Ex-Rye Cask
Not chill filtered, no color added; cask 19/1996 (distilled 2019), 61.4%
Nose: limes, moderate smoke, decent sweetness, white pepper, lemon butter, strong
Palate: strong peat, sweet, cracked pepper, lime, herbal fizz, charcoal, slate
Finish: white pepper, vanilla, cream, medium-long; sweet peat
Raasay Na Sia Single Cask: Unpeated Ex-Rye Cask
Not chill filtered, no color added; cask 19/921 (distilled 2019), 60.1%
Nose: slightly herbal, dry, full, oaky, malt, soft butterscotch, vanilla
Palate: warm, thick mouthfeel, vanilla, oily, kick of spice, peppery, fizzy
Finish: vanilla, oils, linen, herbal, malt, white pepper, fizz, long finish
Raasay Na Sia Single Cask: Peated Ex-Bordeaux Red Wine Cask
Not chill filtered, no color added; cask 20/234 (distilled 2020), 61.4%
Nose: musty, rich, deep, very fruity, fudge, walnut, blood orange, cranberry sauce
Palate: medium-thick mouthfeel; lovely. jammy fruits, tart and sweet, cranberry, orange, wood smoke, strong smokiness
Finish: medium-long, strong smoke, coal, ash, subtle nectarine
Raasay Na Sia Single Cask: Unpeated Ex-Bordeaux Red Wine Cask
Not chill filtered, no color added; cask 19/527 (distilled 2019), 61.9%
Nose: blackcurrant, light, bright, a little sharp, bright fruit, grapefruit, star fruit, lightly herbal
Palate: medium-thick mouthfeel; rich and jammy, allspice, orange marmalade, tons of fruit, black pepper, some youth
Finish: oranges, marmalade, jam, rich, medium-long
Raasay Na Sia Single Cask: Peated Virgin Chinkapin Oak Cask
Not chill filtered, no color added; cask 20/82 (distilled 2020), 61.4%
Nose: peppery, light, effervescent, softer nose, dry cinnamon, oaky, fizz, and malt
Palate: thick mouthfeel; peppery, cinnamon, barbecue sauce
Finish: wood smoke, ash, cinnamon, leathery
Raasay Na Sia Single Cask: Unpeated Virgin Chinkapin Oak Cask
Not chill filtered, no color added; cask 19/588 (distilled 2019), 61.6%
Nose: maple sugar, leather, cinnamon, brown sugar, subtle oak, lots of sweet baking spices
Palate: vanilla, brown sugar, oily but more mellow than the others, barbecued wood
Finish: oily, oaky, leather, a lot of oak, spicy
When all of these components are brought together, the spirit is 50% peated and 50% unpeated; exact proportions of the cask types isn’t specified. In the finished signature single malt, the final level of peat/phenols present in the bottle is estimated around 10 to 12 ppm.
Raasay Signature Single Malt
46.4% ABV, not chill filtered, no color added
Nose: complex, sweet, mild peat, blackcurrant, soft herbs, honey, linen, warm biscuits with butter; floral elements, orchard fruits
Palate: medium or so mouthfeel; vanilla, lime sherbet, fizz, mild to medium peat; hints of salt and mineral water, some black pepper
Finish: vanilla, soft peat, lavender, linen, a bit of a fizzy sensation lingers. dry peach and more herbs later
This whisky did indeed pull little pieces of the flavors from the Na Sia series - fruit came from the Bordeaux wine casks, there was a fizzy and herbal element from the rye casks, and plenty of baking notes arrived from the Chinkapin oak. For whisky that’s generally 3 to 4 years old, this is well-rounded, not too spirity, and it displays a lot more complexity than most of the whiskies near its age.
A distillery to watch, then - already they make characterful distillate and good whisky, and we’ll get increasing age statements in the coming years as their stocks get more mature. There are already plans to release a new set of Na Sia single cask whiskies every other year, with age statements building up from 5 years to 11 years around 2030.
-Ethan and Hannah (Me, My Wife & Whisky)
