Isle of Raasay - 5 yo - Single Malt Whiskey - Single Cask #19/69 Peated Chinkapin Oak

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 61.3% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This peated single malt from the Na Sia Single Cask Series spent its full five years of maturation in First Fill Chinkapin Oak Cask #19/69. Distilled in 2019, it was bottled in August 2024 at its natural cask strength of 61.3%, without chill filtration or added colour. For this cask type, Raasay uses custom-made 190-litre casks of North American Chinkapin oak, Quercus muehlenbergii. The wood is freshly charred and heavily toasted. Toasting caramelises the wood's natural sugars; this cask preparation encourages sweet caramel and smoky barbecue flavours.

Na Sia means “the Six” in Gaelic. The series offers the six maturation components of Raasay's recipe individually: peated and unpeated new make spirit each mature separately in former American rye whiskey casks, virgin Chinkapin oak casks and former Bordeaux red wine casks. While these components are brought together for the regular single malt, the single-cask bottling from cask #19/69 showcases only the peated Chinkapin component.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Pronounced wood smoke meets black cherries, blackberries and dark grapes on the nose. Sweet toffee and a hint of ginger round out the aromas.
• Palate: On the palate, oak and smoke combine with cherry syrup and sugared currants. The whisky is full-bodied, with sweetness and smoke in balance.
• Finish: The finish is long, remaining smoky and fruity. Gentle woody notes accompany the lingering flavours.

Distillery/Bottler:

Bill Dobbie and Alasdair Day founded R&B Distillers in 2013 and went on to develop the Isle of Raasay Distillery. They chose the Hebridean island of Raasay as its location, incorporating the 19th-century Borodale House into a site with a distillery, visitor centre and accommodation. The distillery opened on 14 September 2017, when legally distilled spirit flowed on the island for the first time. The distillery produces its whiskies on Raasay, matures them there and bottles them on the island. The key production stages thus remain directly connected to its island home.

Facts: