The Isle of Harris Distillery may be better known for its beautiful gin, but their Hearach single malt has quickly been making its way into the limelight of the scotch whisky scene. The Hearach is the first whisky from the Isle of Harris since the tradition was lost during island clearances in the 1840s. It is the first legal whisky distillery in the area. The first distillation took place in 2015.
The People and The Place
The Outer Hebrides is known for its white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, the rich history and the kind hospitality and community spirit of its people. It makes sense that The Hearach single malt is also ‘Woven from People and Place’.
The Hearach is Gaelic for a person from Harris. The distillery has one of the youngest distilling teams in Scotland, with an average age of 25 years. Part of the distillery’s mission was to address the issues around the fragile local economy and declining population. Therefore, the team is mainly made up of local residents, and all the distillers were trained to become the first generation of Harris whisky makers, with no previous experience necessary. They even have a community nosing panel which meets regularly to check the quality of the spirits coming from the distillery.
In fact, if you read the text on the frame that covers each bottle, you will find tasting notes and short island stories from the local residents. Very endearing indeed.
And when it comes to the place, the water is the softest of any Scottish distillery as it flows over Lewisian gneiss, some of the oldest rocks on earth, ensuring extremely low minerality. The oceanic climate benefits from the warm currents of the Gulf Stream keeping the seasonal temperatures stable, ideal for whisky maturation. And of course, the casks will get to breathe the salty air from the Atlantic.
The Hearach Single Malt
The Isle of Harris Distillery’s whisky releases are batch numbered, although I’ve been told the differences are very marginal and there has even been some chatter about stopping the numbering. The Hearach is made using Concerto barley with an average peat level of 13.1ppm. The distillation is a very hands-on process, with the first cut done by nosing rather than measured by minutes, the steam valves are managed manually, and so on.
The distillery opted for eight Oregon pine washbacks instead of stainless-steel and Italian copper stills, with falling lyne arms to create a heavier spirit. The wash still is 7000 litres and the spirit still 5000 litres in capacity.
The whisky is made using a marriage of whisky from three types of cask: ex-bourbon casks from Heaven Hill Distillery (21%) and Buffalo Trace (64%), ex-Oloroso (11%) and ex-Fino sherry butts (4%). Both sherry butts are made from Spanish oak. This split is the same in all batches.
Also, the fermentation takes place in two stages: 40% is fermented for 70 hours and 60% for as long as 120 hours, and the whisky is bottled at 46% ABV. The only real difference is the length of the marriage and the initial ABV during that time. For example, in batch 11 it was 48% ABV and the length was 16 weeks and four days. In batch 12 (the latest batch) it was 48.1% ABV and 17 weeks plus five days. They also got 95 bottles more from the latest batch. The Hearach is non-chill filtered and no colourings have been added to it.
The Hearach single malt is a no age statement (NAS) release as multiple ages are used; however the minimum age is always at least four years. The oldest whisky currently used in their releases is just over six years old.
Tasting notes
Here’s my tasting notes for batch number HE 00011 24.
Appearance: Light yellow, sticks to the glass creating small pearls
Nose: Green apple, lime zest, fruit drop boiled sweets (pear, strawberry, raspberry), malty biscuit, mango, spring meadow
The second time I tried this, I was also getting aromas of orange peel, papaya, vanilla and oats.
Palate: Tropical fruit, touch of peat, white pepper, creamy oats, some cinnamon, green apple, orange, salty toffee
Finish: The peat turns saltier, plain crisps (chips)
It’s a lively and light whisky with a lot going on, especially on the nose. First you get more zesty, crisp aroma, followed by sweetness, which then turns into something floral. I didn’t find any smoke on the nose but on the palate it comes through at the beginning, not invasive in anyway, and it transforms into a saltier note for me. I couldn’t quite pinpoint the tropical, sweeter flavour at the beginning. I sampled the whisky on two separate occasions and I found it interesting how the second time I was getting a lot of orange on both the nose and the palate, which I didn’t detect the first time around.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this whisky and whether you found it ever-changing.
Shop different batches from the distillery’s website or find your closest stockist here.
Have you tried The Hearach single malt? Have you spotted any differences between batches?
Disclaimer: This post has been created in collaboration with the Isle of Harris Distillers.
