Limited edition release highlights unique maturation process
HEBRIDEAN distillers Isle of Raasay has unveiled the third edition of its Cask Strength series, featuring a bold 61.6% ABV dram.
Following two sell-out years for the series, this new single malt highlights the distiller’s unique maturation process ‘Na Sia’ which sees the liquid pass through six casks during whilst being aged.
This limited-edition release sees peated and unpeated spirit matured separately in three distinct cask types: Rye Whisky, virgin Chinkapin oak, and Bordeaux red wine, before the two are married together to produce the Raasay house style.
The result is a lightly peated whisky with a powerful profile of flavours including rich dark fruit notes and a balance of spice, smoke and sweetness.
Alasdair Day, co-founder and master distiller at Isle of Raasay, said: “For some, the closest you get to a ‘pure’ representation of a distillery’s single malt is the whisky straight from the cask at the pure, untouched alcohol strength.
“There are very few distilleries that bottle their signature single malt at cask strength so this makes it quite a special release.”
There are only 5,500 bottles of the Isle of Raasay Single Malt Cask Strength available worldwide, with a price of £65 for a 700ml bottle.
This new launch also follows on from the announcement of Raasay’s new flagship whisky in The Draam which featured in the brand’s first TV campaign in December 2024 and also uses the same maturation process as the Cask Strength release.
William Dobbie, managing director of R&B Distillers, said: “We wanted to give our hero whisky a name that reflected its character, and stereotypical names such as ‘signature’, ‘original’ or ‘flagship’ didn’t do the whisky justice.
“So, we decided to have a bit of fun with it and aptly name it The Draam. A playful take on the Scottish word for a measure of whisky and our island with too many ‘A’s in its name.”
