Isle of Harris Distillery fills first casks

The first commercial distillery on the Isle of Harris has filled its inaugural casks with new make spirit.

The Isle of Harris Distillery has announced the creation of its first new make spirit, and subsequent cask-filling

According to Isle of Harris Distillers, the first production of The Hearach single malt came off the stills just before Christmas. The 561 litres have now been placed into ex-Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrels numbered 1, 2 and 3.

Anderson “Burr” Bakewell, Isle of Harris Distillers chairman and founder, was the first to nose the raw spirit, and described it as “rather good! Both fruity and floral, pear drops and gentle peat smoke, sweet and a little oily.”

The first batch of The Hearach will now mature on the island in the distillery’s warehouse.

“We opened the distillery in late September with what was really a family affair for the whole of the people of Harris, including the biggest ceilidh the island has ever seen, and now we have even more to celebrate with the production of our first spirit,” said Simon Erlanger, Isle of Harris Distillers managing director.

The company added that production manager Kenny Maclean and the distillery team will now undertake a period of “spirit optimisation” to ensure the new make has the desired character.

After the distillery’s nosing panel is satisfied, the production team will fill the first run of 200 casks. Every cask in the batch has already been purchased by private individuals, including a number of islanders.

Based in Tarbert, the distillery opened on 24 September and has created 20 local jobs. It is the result of an eight-year project, led by Bakewell, and will eventually produce 300,000 bottles of whisky per year.