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R&B Distillers rolls out second While We Wait
R&B Distillers has released the second batch of its “lightly peated” single malt Scotch whisky Raasay While We Wait, which has been finished for 18 months in Tuscan red wine casks.
The liquid plays homage to Raasay resident Calum Macleod
The distiller – which is currently constructing the first legal distillery on the Isle of Raasay in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides – is set to roll out the second batch of its inaugural While We Wait whisky.
The liquid pays homage to Raasay resident Calum Macleod, who in 1974 completed a ten-year project: building a hand-constructed road across the island, from Brochel Castle to Arnish.
The inaugural Raasay While We Wait was created by combining heavily peated single malt with an unpeated single malt from an unnamed Highland distiller, before it is finished in Tuscan Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc casks for eight weeks – a nod to the Tuscan pot stills now on site at the new distillery.
The new batch – of which just 1,974 bottles are available – has been left to develop for 18 months, offering a “bigger, more rounded flavour” that is “less spicy and smoky than the original”.
Brand ambassador Chris Hoban said: “The second release of Raasay While We Wait has quite a bit of the smoke and earthy notes from the first release but these have been enriched with fruity, juicy, full bodied red wine notes. Where the wine notes were more prominent on the nose in the first release, with just small amounts on the palate, the second release is enveloped with plum and raisin notes, mixed in with burning peat and dark chocolate.”
Both batch one and batch two of the whisky are said to represent the character of the future distillery – reflecting the high minerality of Raasay water, which filters through the volcanic rock of Dùn Caan.
“We’re very excited to launch the second release of our Raasay While We Wait single malt,” added Alasdair Day, co-founder of R&B Distillers.
“Given the batch nature of these whiskies we’re looking forward to hearing feedback from our customers on the difference between the first and second releases.”