Raasay 2017 Oloroso & PX Finish
Style: Single Cask
Cask: #23
Year of distillation: 2017
Bottled: 2021
Age: 4
Region: Highland
Cask Type: Barrel
No. of bottles: 240
ABV: 56.1%
Release: Spring 2022
Doug McIvor
“Peat, wet moss and iodine stream though tempered by a dollop of sherry influence. There is a hint of crab bisque-soaked digestives, not that I have ever paired them. It’s much more vinous on the palate with some cranberry acidity. This builds well in the mouth with enough honey strands that balance nicely. The sherry influence cuts through at the lingering peatiness to leave its stamp.”
Tasting Notes
This first ever independent bottling is purely from the peated distillate. After 3 years in a first fill ex-bourbon barrel it was split into two quarter casks, ex-Oloroso and PX, for 6 months then vatted back together. It opens with sweet flavours of mature Sauternes, apricot jam, mace and rich fruit. The distillate shows itself with peat smoke, soot and bonfire ash. Sweet sherry influenced notes and coastal peat smoke bring waves of spice, orange syrup and dried fruit. Complex layers of dark chocolate, smoked pancetta, prunes, spent fireworks and cedar notes appear. A long finish offers lingering peat smoke and delicate halting spice.
Distillery
Raasay is a ruggedly beautiful island just off the East coast of Skye. The eponymous distillery was founded in 2014 by Bill Dobbie and Alasdair Day. It produces both peated and unpeated distillate, which is matured separately then normally vatted together for bottling.
Rob says: “Any distillery that employs 10% of it’s entire island’s workforce is clearly ingrained deep into the heart of the local community. It is especially notable that Raasay is so after only completing the first distillation in September 2017. With such a beautiful and unspoilt locale, one eye is trained towards sustainability, with the other on distilling deliciously high quality, moderately peaty spirit.”