Review by: dustbunna
Distillery: Isle of Raasay.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Islands (Raasay).
ABV: 62.1%. Cask strength.
Age: 3 years. Distilled in 2018. Bottled in 2022.
Cask type: Ex-rye barrel.
Price: $110 USD.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 9 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: sweet candied smoke, some spices in the background, honey, mustard seed, water brings out a lemon-lime soda quality, wood chips, green fruits.
Palate: full-bodied ~ more sweet smoke and spices (caraway, black pepper, cinnamon, some others that are harder to pinpoint), lemon peel, roasted corn, more lemon-lime soda.
Finish: medium-long ~ lingers on smoke and spice, caramelized brown sugar, water brings out sarsaparilla, more pepper, nutmeg, Red Hots cinnamon candies.
Conclusion: This is another really good, precocious young whisky from Raasay. I’d say I enjoyed this a few ticks less than the peated ex-Bordeaux Na Sia I had open alongside it, but it was still vibrant and charming—especially once it had some time to open up and start building on its core smoke-and-spice profile. The ex-rye casks Raasay uses are the bread and butter of their core release. Here, it feels like a variation on a traditional ex-bourbon cask, but I can’t say it’s a massive difference aside from the generally spicier profile, perhaps as if a European oak cask had been seasoned with bourbon.
Final Score: 85.
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 