For this single cask release we used our six-plate copper purifier to create a completely unique, unpeated expression. It’s a much lighter spirit, bursting with sweet pear drops and rich, caramelised toffee apple notes.
Innovation has always been at the heart of the Isle of Raasay Distillery, but our latest single cask release takes experimentation to a whole new level.
While our core Raasay line-up is celebrated for its signature lightly peated, rich, and fruity complexity, this specific bottling offers a completely different character. It’s a distinct, standalone expression designed to surprise even the most loyal Raasay enthusiasts.
We caught up with our Co-founder and Master Distiller to find out more about this special release for Father’s Day 2026…
Could you tell us about the inspiration behind this new single cask release and how the concept first came together in the distillery?
When I designed our Isle of Raasay distillery I wanted to be able to create a number of different new make spirits. To be able to do this we have a number of different things that can be off or on. The cooling jackets on our stainless steel washbacks, the cooling jacket on the lyne arm of our wash still and the spirit purifier before the spirit condenser. This release was distilled with our spirit purifier on.
When you look at the final character of this expression, what do you feel truly sets it apart from our core Raasay line-up?
It is a very clean, light spirit that really extenuates the sweet fruit flavours in our new make which are fully complimented by the vanilla and butterscotch notes from maturation in an ex rye barrel.
How did you approach the barley selection for this particular spirit run, and what kind of profile were you hoping to create from the very start?
This is made with our concerto barley. The commercial variety that we were using at the time. One less variable to control in this release. This release is all about the additional copper contact gained when using the spirit purifier. I hoped to get a lighter, spirit that would highlight the sweet, fruit flavours in our spirit.
We’re doing something unconventional with the stills for this bottling, Could you tell us a bit more about what’s so different about this one.
Yes, I believe that we are the only distillery in Scotland to have this configuration with a purifier on the spirit still that can be off or on. Creating a very distinctive sweet fruit distillate that is quite different from our other new make spirit on Raasay.
Can you explain more about the configuration of the stills?
We have a 3,600 litre swan neck spirit still with a slightly inclined lyne arm and a shell in tube condenser. There are two valves at the end of the lyne arm before the condenser. If we close the larger valve and open the smaller valve this diverts the spirit vapours through the purifier. The purifier is a small column with six copper bubble cap plates. Dave Broom described it as creating a deconstructed carter head still just by opening and closing two valves. It gives us a virtual third still without have to have a third still.
What kind of unique identity or texture does this specific way of distilling impart to the spirit?
This creates a lighter spirit with more volatile esters driving the sweeter fruit flavours we were looking for.
What led to the decision to bring a Rye Cask into the mix for this project?
Ex rye barrels are a significant part of our six cask recipe for The Draam and part of our Raasay DNA. We wanted the vanilla and butterscotch from the Quercus alba that these rye cask are made from. It compliments the sweet fruit characteristics in the new make spirit.
How would you describe the journey of tasting this whisky?
You really get the sweet fruit on the nose, like caramelised toffee apples. On the palate those sweet fruit flavours like boiled pear drops come in, then the vanilla and butterscotch.
I think you will also be pleasantly surprised by how different this release is compared to our other Raasay single malt releases.
How does this single cask differ from the Na Sia – Through the Ages released this month?
This release is completely different from the Na Sia through the ages. It’s all about that 3.4 times distilled spirit and the Raasay spirit purifier. Lighter spirit with sweet toffee apple and vanilla flavours.
See more on our YouTube channel.
