Isle of Raasay distillery
Scotch whisky distillery in Northwest Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Isle of Raasay Distillery is a Scotch whisky and gin distillery on the Inner Hebridean Isle of Raasay, Scotland.[1] The distillery is owned by R&B Distillers and was the first legal distillery on the Isle of Raasay when it opened in 2017.[2]
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| Region: Island | |
|---|---|
| Location | Isle of Raasay, Scotland |
| Owner | R&B Distillers |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Bill Dobbie & Alasdair Day |
| Water source | Tobar na ba baine spring and borehole |
| No. of stills | 1 wash still 1 spirit still |
| Capacity | 940,000 L (210,000 imp gal; 250,000 US gal) |
| Website | www |
Production
R&B Distillers was founded in 2014 by Bill Dobbie and Alasdair Day.[3] The company started its operations at the Isle of Raasay in September 2017 after receiving its distiller's licence.[4] The water used during the distilling process comes from a Celtic Iron Age well.[5] The water has a high mineral content derived from the island's volcanic and sandstone rock.[6]
The whisky is distilled in copper pot stills and is matured at the distillery on Raasay in a variety of oak casks. The distillery will produce approximately 200,000 litres of pure alcohol per year.[7] The distillery's flagship brand is Isle of Raasay Single Malt Scotch Whisky released since 2020. Since then, the distillery has also released a number of limited special and single cask whiskies.[8]
Location and visitor centre
The distillery is based on the site of a former disused hotel called Borodale House on the southwest of the island.[9] The Isle of Raasay Distillery also has a visitors’ centre that opened in January 2018.[10] It was awarded 5 stars by VisitScotland as a tourist attraction in June 2018.[11][12] The distillery also features a six–bedroom hotel with views over the Isle of Skye.[13] In 2023, the distillery ranked third in a Cask Connoisseur ranking of the most popular whisky distilleries.[14]
In 2025, the distillery launched its visitor accommodation, incorporating five luxury cabins called Na Bothain, and six guest bedrooms inside the distillery itself.[15]
Products
The first bottlings to carry the Raasay name were the While We Wait expressions, a series of five independently bottled single malt whiskies that would indicate the future style of the distillery.[16] The first of these whiskies was released in 2017; the last in 2020. The final While We Wait release was subtitled Last Orders, in reference to the discontinuation of the brand.[17]
The first single malt to be distilled at Raasay distillery was released in September 2020, as a run of 7500 bottles. The whisky was matured in Tennessee whisky casks and finished in Bordeaux wine casks.[18] In 2025, a limited edition whisky was released in support of Skye Live Festival.[19]
In addition to whisky, the distillery also make Isle of Raasay gin. The gin uses ten botanicals, including rhubarb root and cubeb pepper.[20] It was launched in July 2019, pre-dating the first whisky release from the company.[21] The gin uses water from the distillery's historic onsite well, Tobar na Ba Bàine.[22]