Isle of Raasay Oak Species Maturation Series 4 x 0.05l Tasting Pack

Volume: 0.2 litres | Alcohol content: 50.7% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

This tasting pack makes the influence of oak species easy to compare: it contains four lightly peated single malts from the same distillery, each matured entirely in new oak. The four 0.05-litre bottles contain whisky matured in Colombian Quercus humboldtii, Hungarian Quercus petraea, French Quercus robur and North American Quercus muehlenbergii, also known as Chinkapin oak. All four were bottled in March 2025 at 50.7%; together, they contain 0.2 litres of whisky.

Colombian oak brings together herbal smoke, caramel, brown sugar and crème brûlée, followed by mint and green tea on the finish. For these casks, the distillery air-dried the staves for 36 months before heavily toasting and charring them. Hungarian oak brings peat smoke, savoury spice and clove. French oak shows warm fruit, dried raspberries, leather and lingering spice. Heavily toasted and charred Chinkapin oak adds dark fruit, smoked bacon, maple syrup, ginger and cinnamon. The shared distillery and bottling strength make the different oak influences easier to discern. The whiskies are not chill-filtered and contain no added colouring.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The whisky matured in Colombian Quercus humboldtii smells of herbal smoke and caramel. Quercus petraea brings peat smoke and savoury spice to the fore, while Quercus muehlenbergii shows wood smoke and dark fruit.
• Palate: Quercus humboldtii tastes of crystallised brown sugar and crème brûlée. Quercus petraea combines savoury spice and clove with wood smoke. In Quercus muehlenbergii, dark fruit meets smoked bacon and maple syrup.
• Finish: Quercus humboldtii finishes sweetly, with hints of mint and green tea. In Quercus petraea, sweetness emerges only at the end. Quercus muehlenbergii leaves a long finish of dark fruit, smoke, ginger and cinnamon.

Distillery/Bottler:

Bill Dobbie and Alasdair Day founded Isle of Raasay Distillery on the Scottish island of Raasay; distilling began in 2017 at the converted Borodale House. For the four whiskies in this set, the distillery used Laureate barley, MW yeast and water from its 60-metre-deep well. Fermentation lasted three or five days, depending on the batch. Alasdair Day, co-founder and Master Distiller, selected the casks. The whiskies were distilled, matured and bottled on Raasay.

Facts: