Review #692 - Isle of Harris The Hearach Single Malt

Located in the Outer Hebrides, the Isle of Harris distillery is one of the more remote distilleries in Scotland. It was built between 2014 and 2015, meaning it's now celebrating a decade of production here in 2025. The produce both gin and whisky at the distillery; their single malt is released under the brand 'The Hearach.'

This core range single malt is non-age-stated and matures in 3 different cask types: first fill ex-bourbon casks from Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace, first fill Oloroso sherry casks, and Fino sherry casks. These maturations are done on separate parcels of whisky, but the cask types are then brought together to marry for an additional 12+ weeks before the bottling process takes place.

There is also a gentle peat influence from the barley used in production; in the end, we get a 46% ABV Island single malt that comes in a handsome decanter-style bottle.

Isle of Harris The Hearach Single Malt

Scotland/Highland - Single Malt

Price: USD 89 (2025)

Age Statement: NAS

Strength: 46% ABV

Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon, Oloroso sherry, and Fino sherry casks

Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; batch 10 (HE 00010 24); bottled 2024; 12,058 bottles

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 60% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: A decent grain character, with malt and some oats, almost oatmeal; we get some sweetness from honey and vanilla, as well as a bit of dried grass or hay. Later, there's an interesting nuance of vegetable oil. The complexion is relatively light.

Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness. It's quite oily and dense, and we get tons of malty character. Hay, lemon-lime soda, and lemon juice build in strength, and there's a fizzy element as well. Time brings minerals like slate; overall, it's light and bright.

Finish: Tart lemon, more lemon-lime soda - quite citrus-fruit forward with that accent of malty grain. There's a really nice weight to this, great oily texture for the strength, and the finish is medium-long at least.

Final Note: These early batches of The Hearach are definitely still distillate-focused, with some spirity and malty notes. The oak influence is still quite subtle, and despite the two types of sherry used in the maturation scheme, we still found this to lean more toward the ex-bourbon profile. They're clearly making some quality spirit up on the Isle of Harris, as this is full of character, but it's also still a bit young. A tasty single malt, one that we think will mature well with a bit more time.

Value is just a bit below average here, at least for us. This Hearach release is a little more expensive than average for new Scottish distillery releases in our area; with a bit more maturity, if they keep the same price going forward, we think that value will improve.

Our Average Rating: 6.5 / 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: 5.82

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.