Torabhaig to auction two rare whiskies for charity

Isle of Skye distillery Torabhaig will auction a rare single cask whisky and a new peated single malt to raise money for two charities.

Torabhaig, which claims to be the first whisky distillery built on the Isle of Skye in 190 years, will sell the two bottles of whisky via online platform Whisky.Auction from 31 January.

All proceeds from the sale of the bottles will go to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, and the Dr MacKinnon Memorial Broadford Hospital on the Isle of Skye.

The auction will include a rare single cask bottle from the Torabhaig Family Reserve and a bottle of the new Legacy Series 2017 peated single malt. Bottles from the Torabhaig Family Reserve are normally unavailable to purchase and usually remain in a private collection, the distiller said.

Legacy Series 2017 is a single distillation vintage and is limited to just over 3,000 bottles available in the UK, and 6,000 in the US.

Neil Mathieson, chief executive at Torabhaig owner Mossburn Distillers, said: “This Legacy Series will lay down the foundations for the future profile of our bottled whisky and with each edition we will guide your journey with details on the barley, yeast and casks on the back label of the bottle.

“For the first, the 2017, we selected only 100 barrels from our first quarter’s distillation the spirit having been aged solely in Bourbon barrels that we shipped directly ourselves from the Kentucky distillery the day they were emptied.”

The two bottles have been signed by all nine Torabhaig distillers and will be auctioned ahead of the general release of Legacy Series 2017. The whisky will be available to buy from 19 February through specialist whisky retailers worldwide, priced at an RRP of £50 (US$67).