Review by: The Muskox
I’m gonna be honest, I bought this whisky mostly for the presentation. The bottle is embossed with rock textures, complete with ammonite and brachiopod fossils. The label shows tilted rock strata and talks about water filtering through Jurassic sandstone.
As a whisky-nerd geologist, I am the target audience. My suggested rock pairing for this whisky is this lovely Peruvian specimen of quartz, pyrite, and sphalerite.
But is it any good? I’ve heard very mixed things about this whisky, but bought it regardless. Let’s find out. These notes were assembled over several pours over the last few months.
Distillery: Raasay
Bottler: Official bottling
Region: Islands (Isle of Raasay)
ABV: 46.4%.
Age: No age statement. Bottled in 2022.
Cask type: Mix of rye casks, virgin Chinquapin oak casks, and Bordeaux red wine casks.
Price: $100 CAD
Color: Gold. Natural Color. Non-Chill Filtered.
Nose: Light honeyed peat, supported by sweet fruit and minerals. Nectarines, navel oranges, apple juice, green bananas, and cranberries. Slate quarry and wet grass. There’s a light herbaceousness that I sort of want to attribute to the rye casks. Sort of a pizza crust-malty note. Underlying savouriness- mild green chilis and prosciutto.
Palate: Medium-thin texture. Arrives with cool juicy fruits – honeydew, key lime, pear, and more nectarines. Crystallized honey in the middle, as well as a dry red wine note. Light herbaceous smoke and coarse malt as it develops. Spiced toffee and a strong coffee-grounds kind of note. Grilled lemongrass, wood-fired pizza oven, and salted pistachio.
Finish: Medium-short. Light honeyed peat, with a little more of a campfire character to it. Rather salty, too. Driftwood, extinguished charcoal barbeque, and melted butter dripped over scones. Orange zest. Cinnamon-dusted baked apples. More dry wine.
Possible SMWS bottling name: “Barbequed baklava”
Conclusion: That’s surprisingly good. Not dissimilar to an indie-bottled Highland Park, but maybe nuttier. It reminds me of the inaugural Ardnamurchan bottling (review pending), but a fair bit better and more mature. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a very young whisky, but there’s already lots of complexity and some interesting character here. Looking forward to more rock-themed bottlings in the future.
Final Score: 80.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 