Meet The Hearach: Batch No.12 with Steve Brown – Scotch Whisky News
The second release of our island whisky is now on sale direct from the distillery and specialist spirits retailers across the world.
While Batch 10 is sold out in our online store you can find bottles of No. 9, 10, 11, and 12 available from other retailers and also at our distillery shop here in Tarbert. This week we’re sharing the story behind the beautiful bottle of HE 00012 24, also known as Batch No.12 of The Hearach single malt.
We have a limited number of bottles of this particular batch left in our online store if you’d like to get hold of one of your own to enjoy, share, or gift to a good friend. Captured in stunning glass wrapped with organic lines and curves, every bottle is presented in a specially designed bespoke box which unfolds to reveal a myriad of hidden details.
Read on to learn more about this special part of our second release!
Le gach deagh dhùrachd,
Mike Donald, Chief Storyteller
Every batch of The Hearach single malt we release comes with accompanying tasting notes from a local person. jkkjmm,.The tasting notes for Batch 12 were created by Steve Brown who lives in our home village of Tarbert.
A former native of Glasgow, Steve has now settled with us here in the Isle of Harris setting down roots in our island community alongside his wife and family.
Steven sat down with us to enjoy a dram and we had a good chat about the flavours and aromas she found in her glass…
“I’m originally from Glasgow so the aroma of peat smoke is a very island thing for me now I live here. I get spices on the nose and a lovely heat to it sipping it neat. There’s a barbeque-like smoke on the palate too and crisp, sharp apple flavours, like the fruit we used to pick from trees on the way home from school. A bit of water really opens it up and I’m reminded of sweet Scottish ‘tablet’. I always make my own tablet, my Granny from Cork in Ireland taught me how. Overall, it’s very smooth, smoky, sweet, and quite refreshing.”
We’d love to know what you find in your glass next time you pour a good measure of our island spirit, so drop us a line to share your stories!
Donald Macrae, shown above, is part of our young team of distillers, trained from scratch in this age-old craft and just one of five whisky-makers working in our Spirit Hall each day. In the spirit of being open, straight, and true we also want to share as much information about the making of our whisky batches as we can.
Whether you’re a whisky geek or just interested in diving a little deeper into your dram, you’ll find a wealth of wonderful little details and data on your batch sheets. Here are just a few of the facts you can find for Batch 12…
Batch Run
12,100 Bottles
Bottling Dates:
29.02.24 – 12.03.24
Casks Used
Heaven Hill Bourbon (21%) + Buffalo Trace Bourbon (64%) + Oloroso Sherry (11%) + Fino Sherry (4%)
Fermentation Times
40% Short (70 hours) + 60% Long (120 Hours)
Marrying Time
17 Weeks + 5 Days
Barley & Yeast
Concerto Barley
Lallelmand + Distilamax MW yeasts
Peating Level
13.1 PPM (Averaged)
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If that’s not enough for you, please click below to read more!
We also want to connect you to Harris as you sit and sip our whisky. So, we capture a snapshot of Harris on the day your whisky is bottled by writing a few words about island life, weather, and distillery goings-on to transport you back to our Outer Hebridean home. Here’s the wee tale from our Batch 12 bottling day which took place on the 29th of February 2024…
“Although we are poised on the cusp on meteorological spring, snow still dusts the heights of the Clisham mountain and the surrounding Harris hills. Far below, across the bay at Ardhasaig lies our whisky warehouses where Domhnall, Billy, and Scott stay busy behind the scenes looking after our precious casks. As far as workplaces go, few come much finer, with peace, quiet, and some of the most spectacular views on the island to take in when the tea-break comes around. Meantime, just a few miles down the road, our bottling team are setting to work on Batch 12 in good time for the next release of The Hearach on the 26th of March.”
