Nestled on the shores of the Isle of Skye, Torabhaig Distillery blends age-old tradition with youthful ambition, crafting bold peated malts as the island’s second official whisky distillery.
Torabhaig Distillery has been long in the making. The previous owner of the 20,000-acre site, Sir Iain Noble, the founder of Scotland’s first modern merchant bank and an influential Gaelic language advocate, had the idea to build the Isle of Skye’s second whisky distillery back in 2002. He wanted to create something that contributed to the island’s economy, while respecting local tradition and craftmanship. Sadly, he passed in 2010 before his vision came to life.
Thankfully, Neil Macleod Mathieson, a spirits industry legend, was looking for a site for his distillery and Sir Iain’s land happened to be the perfect spot for it. He acquired the land in 2013. Originally, the idea was to create a new Lowland distillery (which he did slightly later), but with the land now available in the Isle of Skye and his family ties to the island, it seemed like a better idea to honour the plan of Sir Iain Noble and make his dream come true. The first casks were filled in 2017.
Torabhaig’s spirit still is named after Sir Iain, and the wash still is Lady Noble after his wife, who still visits the distillery often; this way the couple may be together forever in spirit. Sir Iain’s Gaelic language legacy is also connected to the distillery’s whisky releases.
Journeyman Project – Encouraging Innovation
Torabhaig Distillery is owned by Mossburn Distillers & Blenders, also a young company (first bottle released in 2017), although it comes with three decades of experience in blending whisky and other spirits. Mossburn is driven by a ‘spirit of intrigue’, hence they also own another distillery in the Borders, the purpose of which is to allow experimentation and create intriguing whiskies.
Neil Macleod Mathieson, the founder and master distiller of Torabhaig and the driving force behind Mossburn Distillers, has been passing on his whisky wisdom to the apprentice team at the distillery. Torabhaig Distillery hired several locals and whisky industry newbies to transfer the craft of whisky making to the next generation.
These new brewer-distillers get to take part in the Journeyman Project, which encourages each to create their own whisky batch. They get to develop their own style by experimenting with barley varieties, yeast, fermentation, distillation and cask types. Once ready, these will be released under the Journeyman’s Series. This project helps in their training and encourages innovation (yet still within the SWA rules). So far, nine apprentices have taken part in the project.
I had the opportunity to try two of these, one by Iona Macphie and another by Kieran Roberts. Kieran’s peated malt was paired with 100% black malt, and the whisky is currently maturing in a re-racked bourbon barrel. Very tasty, although I think Iona’s unpeated Concerto with some chocolate malt was the winner for the group. I won’t tell you more in case these are bottled soon, but let’s just say Iona’s cask would fly off the shelves if bottled now.
It’s not all about newness at Torabhaig: to preserve some of the history of the site, they renovated the old farm steading to house their distillery. The building dates back to 1820. The stone walls were made using stones from the nearby castle ruin, Caisteal Chamuis, which also happens to be the namesake of Mossburn’s tasty, blended malt range (worth checking out!).
When restoring the old building, they had to align their distilling equipment from condenser to lyne arms to fit into the building yet still be able to create the desired flavour profile. They ended up with eight wooden washbacks and an 8,000-litre wash still and a 5,000-litre spirit still. Both stills are fairly short and round due to the shape of the farm steading. They have a wider neck with the lyne arms at a slightly downward angle. The addition of a boil ball helps to increase the reflux and therefore create a more refined spirit.
Want to discover other Scottish island distilleries? Exploring Island Whisky from Scotland
Torabhaig Single Malt
Torabhaig might be a fairly new player on the whisky scene, but that doesn’t mean their whisky lacks flavour. The distillery serves big, bold flavours (think brine, tar, salty peat with balanced sweetness …) and plenty of smoke, usually 75ppm or more. Although, saying that, the peat is more polished, ‘well-tempered’ as Neil would put it. His vision was to create a layered, complex smokiness rather than an overpowering and medicinal one.
Neil pays close attention to the two phenolic compounds, cresol and guaiacol, to find the desired balance for the smoke character. Cresol usually adds medicinal and tarry notes, while guaiacol brings in sweeter smoke and earthiness. The higher cut point reduces the heavier cresols, and charred American oak contributes to the guaiacol. Of course, it’s slightly more complicated than that, but I’ll save you from the nitty-gritty of peat compounds for now.
The new make has cereal sweetness and notes of strawberry jam and dark cherries. Very nice! Most of their spirit is maturing in ex-bourbon barrels; however, they have experimented with various sherry casks, Madeira, Ruby Port, virgin oak and more. In fact, there’s a divine Madeira cask in the dunnage waiting to be bottled …
The Legacy Series
The Legacy Series is paving the way for their 10-year-old release. Chapters 1 and 2 (Allt Gleann) had plenty of brine, coastal tar, oily citrus peel and the subtle sweetness of vanilla, honey and pear. Try their Allt Gleann batch-strength version (61.1% ABV) for amped-up smoke, spice and grassy notes.
Chapter 3 in the series is Cnoc Na Moine, which introduced sherry casks into the mix. Both Oloroso and PX were used, as well as their familiar bourbon. This release takes you on a flavour journey from fruit to the sea to a meaty BBQ via blackcurrant bushes topped off with a cigar!
Chapter 4 is named after the Sleat Peninsula where the distillery resides. Sound of Sleat is made with barley peated to 78ppm+ and the casks used are both ex-bourbon and new American oak. Expect notes of citrus peel, seaweed, bonfire smoke and salted caramel.
There is also the Reserve Series, which includes cask-strength whiskies aged in a range of barrels. These are available for the distillery’s Club members, though some bottles can be found in the distillery shop. You can find information about all the releases on their website. The distillery is very transparent about what goes into each release, from yeast to peat levels to barley types to ageing and more.
The latest trio includes an excellent PX hogshead, Ruby Port and Madeira cask, but a standout for me was the sixth release. It features a bottling of two single casks. These whiskies have been matured for over four years in two first-fill and refill American oak bourbon casks, followed by a second maturation period of 14 months in medium-toast French oak cognac barrels. Full of elegant peat, just enough fruity notes, spice and subtle vanilla, all in perfect harmony.
Overall
As Torabhaig approaches its first decade, the distillery has evolved from an ambitious newcomer to a peated powerhouse. With patience the team has created excellent single malts with a ‘well-tempered’ peat profile.
If you haven’t yet tried Torabhaig whisky, I hope you will reach for it next time you see it on a bar shelf or in a shop. Don’t be afraid of the peat, it’s more refined than medicinal – sometimes I’d even describe it as elegant. Of course, some of their releases offer notes of tar and a fiery spice kick, but with their different cask options they have a nice selection to choose from.
I admire the dedication to detail when it comes to their production, especially the focus on cresols and guaiacols. They haven’t simply gone with the first choice but are continuously honing their craft and experimenting with different cut points, maltsters, yeast types and ppm to create the base that will be their 10-year-old core release. By focusing on layering and balance through the higher cut points and their careful cask selection, the distillery is aiming for a whisky that appeals across all palates.
So whether you’re drawn by the smoke or the story, pour yourself a glass and enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: This blog post is not sponsored by Torabhaig Distillery, however I did stay at the distillery as part of a press trip. Some of the links used are affiliate links. If you buy through the links, I may receive a commission for the sale. This has no effect on the price for you.
