Review #687 - Isle of Raasay Scottish Whisky Distillery of the Year 2022 Special Release

Written By Me, My Wife & Whisky

To celebrate the occasion of being crowned 'Scottish Whisky Distillery of the Year' in 2022 at the Scottish Whisky Awards, Isle of Raasay distillery released a special edition single malt. While this bottle doesn't technically carry an age statement, they do state that it was distilled in August 2018 and bottled in August 2023, making the whisky right around 5 years old; at the time of release, that made this the oldest whisky that Raasay had released.

The spirit chosen for this special release is all unpeated distillate, which was first aged in ex-bourbon casks from the Four Roses distillery in Kentucky. After that initial maturation, the spirit was moved into Quercus Humboldtii casks, or Colombian oak casks. This type of oak isn't seen too often in whisky maturation; in theory, it generally adds darker, spicier flavors to the profile.

We don't see too many Raasay releases that have no peat influence and also no wine/sherry influence - let's see how this one tastes at 50.7% ABV.

Isle of Raasay Scottish Whisky Distillery of the Year 2022 Special Release

Scotland/Highland - Single Malt

Price: USD 100 (2025)

Age Statement: NAS

Strength: 50.7% ABV

Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon barrels, finished in Colombian oak casks

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled August 2018, bottled August 2023

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 3 months; bottles at 90%, 80%, and 70% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Dusty oak and a decent amount of wood spice, backed up by light floral and herbal notes. The malt has a sour and vegetal side to it, and we get unusual flavors of vegetable oil, linen, and orange blossom. Baking notes like vanilla, cinnamon, and toast come forward; there's a bit of spirity youth, too.

Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness. It's quite spirity and bright, even fizzy, with notes like fresh herbs, grapefruit, new make, and lots of sea salt. Oak grows much stronger with time: tannins, a bit of chocolate, dry wood, and some anise. We even get wood smoke, and later, a hint of brown sugar.

Finish: Tons of cinnamon and brown sugar - that Colombian oak begins to show. Oak is stronger, but there' still some fizzy youthful spirit. The vegetal notes from the nose return, and we get a nice oily, sea salt taste that lingers. It's a medium-short finish.

Final Note: Not a bad whisky, but not one of our favorites so far from Isle of Raasay. Despite this being the oldest release at 5 years old back in 2023, this is very spirity and showed more youth that some of the other whiskies with stronger cask influence from the distillery. That oak did get stronger into the finish, and we saw some of those dark flavors and spice that we expected; there's also still plenty of emphasis on the malty grains with those vegetal notes.

Because this wasn't one of our favorite Raasay whiskies, this value score is also a bit lower. The price here sits somewhere between their flagship core range whiskies and the more limited Na Sia single cask expressions; if you specifically enjoy the flavor profile of drying oak and spice, this could be a nice bottle for your collection.

Our Average Rating: 5.6 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 4.88

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.

Me, My Wife & Whisky
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