A Scot on Scotch

WHISKY REVIEWS, NEWS, HISTORY & FOLKLORE

The Raasay Distillery

A Scot on Scotch reviews Raasay R-01, a single malt Scotch whisky from R&B Distillers.

Perhaps more than any other new distillery, the story of Raasay is tightly linked with the story of its founder. Alasdair Day was encouraged to venture into the whisky industry when he inherited an old ledger that once belonged to his great-grandfather.

Day’s ancestor was the proprietor of a licensed grocer in Coldstream in the Scottish borders. In those days, it was common for such businesses to create blends using whisky casks from local distilleries. Indeed, many of the names we find on blended Scotch whiskies today began as licensed grocers – think John Walker, John Dewar and William Teacher.

Day’s great-grandfather kept meticulous records of the blends he created and when Alasdair inherited the book he decided to recreate some of the recipes. That process would eventually lead to the release of The Tweeddale blend. Later, he partnered with technology entrepreneur Bill Dobbie to establish R&B Distillers. The company’s goal was the creation of distilleries in both Raasay and the Borders.

Work began on the site of the old Borrodale House Hotel in 2016 and on the 14th of September 2017, the first cask was filled with new make Raasay spirit and mature whisky was sourced from another distillery and bottled as Raasay While We Wait to give whisky lovers a glimpse at the intended style of the coming whisky. The inaugural release of the official single malt appeared in 2020 and the brand has since earned its place on whisky shelves all over the world.

Somehow, Raasay has thus far eluded this wee blog. This was no intentional boycott, just a symptom of a very crowded market but when I found a bottle of the R-01 on a recent auction that had escaped the notice of other bidders, I snapped it up – and for a very reasonable price too!

Raasay R-01 Review

R-01 was the second release from Raasay, launched in May 2021. The whisky is a combination of peated and unpeated malts from rye whiskey casks, chinkapin oak casks and Bordeaux red wine casks. It’s bottled at 46.4% abv.

Tasting notes: The nose is malty and biscuity with vanilla oak, cinnamon and ginger. There are some berries in there too. Raspberry and cherry. Peat smoke, with a slightly medicinal edge, is surprisingly prominent. On the palate, there’s a fruity arrival with more of the berries from the nose. Caramel and toffee, as well as some new oak, follows. The peat isn’t as prominent as the nose but bursts on the finish. Black pepper throughout. Ashiness to the smoke.

Thoughts: This is a really solid offering for such a young whisky. You don’t pick up any hint of youth. It also doesn’t feel overly busy – something that must be a risk when you work with such a concoction of casks. Instead, the impressive range of flavours holds together remarkably well. The peat is interesting too – it leads the way on the nose but holds back on the palate. Acting like a full stop at the end of the experience. Excellent quality for one so young.

Price: £70 (original). £35 (auction price). Early releases of Raasay weren’t cheap, although by no means were they as excessive as some inaugural bottlings. Things seem to have balanced out a bit in recent times and as demonstrated with this purchase, bargains can be found if you’re willing to trawl the auctions.

For more about Raasay visit here

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