R&B Distillers second release of Raasay While We Wait

This February, R&B Distillers are delighted to announce the release of the second batch of their lightly peated single malt whisky – Raasay While We Wait. This limited edition second iteration has spent 18 months finishing in Tuscan red wine casks, imbuing the spirit with a rounder and fruitier flavour.

After a successful first year of production, R&B Distillers have now sold out of the first release of their multi-award winning single malt, now only available at some of their stockists. R&B Distillers are in the process of building the first (legal) distillery on the remote Isle of Raasay, off the east coast of Skye, and they have chosen to create a limited second batch of 1,974 bottles to honour a renowned figure in Raasay history. In 1974, Raasay resident Calum Macleod completed a mammoth ten-year endeavour: to build a hand-constructed road across Raasay, from Brochel Castle to Arnish. R&B’s latest batch plays homage this immense and patient feat.

Masters of patience themselves, R&B Distillers began working with another Highland distillery to create whisky while obtaining planning permission to build their first distillery on the island. In November 2015, R&B launched the aptly named Raasay While We Wait a handcrafted whisky that offers a clever prediction of the taste and character of the whisky which will run from the stills on Raasay this Summer.

The inaugural release was created by combining heavily peated single malt with an unpeated single malt from one Highland distiller. This created a lightly peated single malt whisky reflecting the high minerality of Raasay water, which filters naturally through the volcanic rock of Dùn Caan. The pot stills, now on site at the new distillery, have been sourced from Tuscany and R&B decided to strengthen this Italian connection by finishing Raasay While We Wait in Super Tuscan red wine casks. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc casks lend juicy and fruity notes to the whisky which carefully balances the 15ppm peating.

While the first batch has spent 8 weeks in the red wine casks, the second batch has been developing in complexity over the past 18 months finishing in the casks. This new iteration contains the same level of peat, but the extra finishing furnishes the whisky with a bigger, more rounded flavour and is less spicy and smoky than the original incarnation. Similarly, the whisky’s distinctive heather hue has subtly but evidently darkened.

Brand ambassador Chris Hoban comments “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.”

In 2016, the first release of Raasay While We Wait was awarded several accolades including a Silver at the International Wine and Spirits Competition, and Bronze medals at the International Spirits Challenge and Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Competition.

Alasdair Day, co-founder of R&B Distillers hopes that the second release will match this success: “We’re very excited to launch the second release of our Raasay While We Wait single malt. 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.”