A Scot on Scotch reviews the latest release from Torabhaig distillery on the Isle of Skye. Sound of Sleat is Chapter 4 in the Legacy Series.
The Genesis of Torabhaig
Torabhaig is the second malt whisky distillery to make its home on the Isle of Skye. Given the island’s immense popularity with tourists, it’s something of a surprise that the mighty Talisker was left alone to fly the whisky flag for as long as it did. Thankfully, Torabhaig would appear to be a more than adequate alternative to the Diageo stalwart.
The story of Skye’s second distillery begins with the interesting character that was Sir Iain Noble. Noble wasn’t a Skye native, but he loved the island and purchased 20,000 acres of land upon which he created the Gaelic college Sabhal Mòr. A huge supporter of the Gaelic language, Noble’s estate was the first location in Scotland to erect Gaelic road signs, and he insisted that all employees be fluent. He was also the holder of the first ever Gaelic cheque book issued by the Bank of Scotland!
Part of Sir Noble’s plan for the estate was the construction of a malt whisky distillery. He planned to rejuvenate and convert a 19th century farm steading, using rescued stone from the ruined castle in the bay. Permission was granted in 2002, but Iain was a busy man, with many a project and sadly, the distillery never came to fruition before his death in 2010.
Mossburn to the Rescue
Over in Europe, Marussia Beverages Ltd, owner of Mossburn Distillers, were casting an admiring eye over the Isle of Skye and its massive, untapped whisky potential. Originally, they planned to start from scratch, constructing a purpose-built, modern distillery but when they learned of the planning permission awarded to the Noble project, they quickly pivoted to his design.
Production finally began in 2017, and the first Torabhaig single malts hit the market in 2020. The distillery’s latest release, however, is the Sound of Sleat, named after the narrow sea channel that divides the Sleat peninsula on Skye from the mainland of Scotland.
Torabhaig Sound of Sleat Review
The whisky is produced from malted barley peated to 78ppm and matured in a combination of first-fill bourbon barrels, first-fill heavily toasted barrels, and some refill barrels from the distillery’s own warehouse. It’s bottled at 46%.
Sound of Sleat is Chapter 4 in the ongoing Legacy series. The purpose of this series is to chart the development of the Torabhaig single malt as it moves towards the first 10 year old release.
Tasting notes: Nose – Earthy, vegetal peat. Almost farmy. Straw and hay bales. There’s a savoury quality to it. Almost a meatiness. Toffee and vanilla and a slight nuttiness. A wee touch of lemony freshness, too. Palate – arrives in a big burst of flavour with the salty / savoury thing again. Some nice malty notes, lemon scented air fresheners, gentle peppery heat, and, of course, peat.
Thoughts: There’s a lovely balance to this dram. It has big peat but doesn’t feel dominated by it. Overall it does a really good job of balancing sweet and savoury, spicy and smoky. Maybe the most impressive thing, however, especially given its relative youth, is that the spirit really leads the way. Some new distilleries might feel the need to deploy highly active casks to cover up their immature spirit but Torabhaig are allowing their distillery character to shine, and it doesn’t feel too young. This is a good wee dram from a distillery that doesn’t get the hype enjoyed by the other new kids, but could prove to be a real showstopper in years to come.
Price: £60. Ideally, you’d like to see it come in a bit cheaper than this. Hopefully, that’s something the distillery can deliver when they move to a core range, as opposed to limited edition “chapters”.
For more information on Torabhaig visit here
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