Raasay 4yo 2021/2025 Marsala Cask

Raasay 4yo 2021/2025 Marsala Cask

Official bottling
Single malt - Islands
Dark gold, hints of amber

50.7% ABV
Dram

Nose: Apples, cinnamon, honey, gooseberries, white grapes, dried apricots, toffee, hints of smoke. With water, menthol, dried apricots, white grapes. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, expands, cool, astringent. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Cinnamon, apples, smoke, dried apricots, leather, sourdough bread, toffee, vanilla, peat, smoke. With water, smoke, peat, leather, white grapes. 
Finish: Long. Peat, smoke, charcoal ash, apples, dried apricots. 

Comments: 

Sometimes sweet wine finishes clash with peat but for this whisky they are quite well integrated. The sweet notes are prominent on the nose and especially near, and once water is added the smoke comes to the fore.

Verdict:

I like this.

Raasay Na Sia Peated Bordeaux Cask

Raasay Na Sia Peated Bordeaux Cask

Official bottling
Single malt - Islands
Chinese tea
60.2% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, leather, roast beef, farmyard, honey, malted grains, hints of red grapes. With water, smoke, soot, roast beef, farmyard. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, tingly, volatile. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Leather, farmyard, honey, malted grains, sea salt, peat, soot, vanilla, hints of caramel. With water, malted grains, farmyard, soot. 
Finish: Medium. Soot, peat, smoke, malted grains. 

Comments: 

Winey, with grape notes, but it’s also meaty and a little gamey. Plenty of soot and ash as well. Water brings out even more gamey fall flavours, very earthy and almost vegetal.

Verdict:

I like this.

Raasay 45 months Peated Cask Sample, Virgin Chinkapin Oak Cask

Raasay 45 months Peated Cask Sample, Virgin Chinkapin Oak Cask

Caskshare
Single malt - Islands
Amber
Around 55% ABV
Dram

Nose: Leather, mint, fresh cut grass, raisins, sage, orange peel, white pepper, smoke. With water, pears, pencil erasers, white pepper, hints of dark chocolate. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, loosens, tingly, hot. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Mint, fresh cut grass, orange peel, sage, smoke, dark chocolate, white pepper, sea salt, hints of roast chicken. With water, dark chocolate, pears, pencil erasers, smoke. 
Finish: Medium. White pepper, smoke, leather, dark chocolate, hints of roast chicken. 

Comments: 

This is actually whisky, unlike the previous 2 cask samples I had from Raasay. It’s fruity and spicy, lots of interesting flavours imparted by the virgin oak cask. Some slightly sulphurous notes too, but ‘good’ sulphur rather than unpleasant sulphur. Water opens it right up, creating a smoky, chocolatey dram.

Verdict:

I like this.

Raasay 33 months Cask Sample, Woodford Reserve Rye Cask

Raasay 33 months Cask Sample, Woodford Reserve Rye Cask 

Caskshare
Single malt - Islands
Pale green gold
Around 60% ABV
Dram

Nose: Yoghurt, cream, lemon zest, cumin, sea salt, white pepper. With water, lemon zest, fresh cut grass, white pepper. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, hot, tingly, astringent. 
Tasting:  Bitter sour. Yoghurt, sourdough bread, cumin, lemon zest, sea salt, white pepper. With water, lemon zest, orange peel, fresh cut grass, white pepper. 
Finish: Medium. Caraway seed, cumin, lemon zest, hints of orange peel. 

Comments: 

Age matters, as does the cask, I suppose. This whisky is spicy, lots of warming spices such as cumin and pepper, alongside some lemony tartness. A few more years will see this right.

Verdict:

I like this.

Raasay 17 months Peated Cask Sample, Australian Cabernet Sauvignon Cask

Raasay 17 months Peated Cask Sample, Australian Cabernet Sauvignon Cask

Caskshare
Single malt - Islands
Pink, hints of orange 
Around 60% ABV
Dram

Nose: Malted grains, oat porridge, surgical spirit, popcorn, red grapes, pomegranate molasses, new plastic. With water, orange peel, peaches, red grapes, lemon curd. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, airy, expands, hot. 
Tasting:  Bitter sour. Smoke, peat, pomegranate molasses, new plastic, orange peel, red grapes. With water, new plastic, peaches, lemon curd, smoke. 
Finish: Long. New plastic, smoke, leather, oat porridge, hints of surgical spirit. 

Comments: 

Very alcoholic, not much else in terms of flavour, at least on the surface. Delving a bit reveals some nice windy notes, but also a heap of new plastic bags. I would say there are some promising features, but it needs a lot of aging.

Verdict:

I like this.

Raasay 2017/2021

Raasay 2017/2021

Single Cask, Berry Bros & Rudd
Single malt - Islands
Amber
56.1% ABV
Dram

Nose: Apples, cider vinegar, malted grains, orange peel, sea salt. With water, apple juice, lemon zest, cider vinegar. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, hot, astringent, tingly. 
Tasting:  Bitter salty. Cider vinegar, apples, honey, green tea, malted grains, stale beer. With water, lemon zest, cider vinegar, stale beer. 
Finish: Medium. Chillies, green tea, malted grains, stale beer. 

Comments: 

Cask 23. Odd whisky, this - there’s a big whiff of stale beer, and the whisky itself tastes of cider vinegar. There’s some herbal fragrance, especially on the tongue, but it’s really very cereally. I don’t quite know what to make of it. 

Verdict:

Not bad. 

Raasay Cask #658 Sample 3yo 2018/2021

Raasay Cask #658 Sample 3yo 2018/2021

Official bottling 
Single malt - Islands
Copper
Around 60% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, smoke, raisins, green tea, leather, sea salt, dried pears, hints of Worcestershire sauce. With water, lemon zest, green tea, leather, Worcestershire sauce. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, syrupy, cool.  
Tasting:  Bitter. Sea salt, leather, black pepper, dried pears, lemon zest, peat moss, smoke. With water, lemon zest, sea salt, leather, fresh baked bread, hints of Worcestershire sauce. 
Finish: Medium. Fresh baked bread, lemon zest, peat moss, sea salt, leather. 

Comments: 

Gloriously unbalanced, but with a nice sourish tang of umami on the nose and tongue. The peat is almost overwhelming, not like Octomore, but like the other flavours are too delicate to stand up to it. But it’s promising. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Isle of Raasay Single Malt Batch 1

Isle of Raasay Single Malt Batch 1

Official bottling 
Single malt - Islands 
Golden
46.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, raisins, strawberries, leather, honey, candied oranges, hints of dried pears. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, cool, slippery, slightly tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Raisins, candied oranges, figs, honey, peat, dates, strawberry jam, hints of leather. 
Finish: Short. Dates, raisins, strawberry jam, black tea, hints of leather. 

Comments: 

Not the inaugural bottling, but decent nevertheless. Lots of honeyed fruity notes, but with an underlying edge of peatiness that adds complexity and savouriness. Even though I would have appreciated a higher strength expression, 46% plus is quite high enough to convey the flavours.

Verdict:

I like this.