Torabhaig Cnoc Na Moine, Isle of Skye Single Malt 46%

Torabhaig Cnoc Na Moine is the third release in Torabhaig Legacy Series after the inaugural release and the Allt Gleann (and Allt Gleann batch strength bottling).

Torabhaig is a new distillery on the island of Skye. It was founded in 2013 and is believed to be only the second distillery opened on Skye in over 190 years (the other, Talisker, was founded in 1930). The distillery is owned by Mossburn Distillers which is part of Swedish pharmaceutical billionaire, Frederick Paulsen’s, empire.

Torabhaig Distillery is located in a listed, 19th century traditional stone farm steading which has been painstakingly restored using local materials. The renovation project began in 2014, the stills and washbacks were commissioned and installed in 2016 and the first spirit flowed from the stills in 2017. The distillery features a specially designed removable slate roof which allows easy access to the two stills for repairs or should they need to be replaced. These are two copper traditional copper pot stills custom made by Forsyths of Rothes. A long fermentation in eight, 8000L Douglas Fir washbacks and plenty of copper interaction during distillation provides fruit-forward spirit. The distillery uses only the purest island spring water from Allt Gleann Torabhaig and Allt Breacach and will have a capacity to produce around 1.5 million bottles of whisky per annum.

There is no head distiller at Torabhaig, instead a team of nine distillers, many of them new to the industry, but now accomplished brewer-distillers, began work on this new release on January 2017. They have served their apprenticeship under a team of whisky industry mentors and veterans, including consultant brewers, distillers and maltsmen, who have over 200 years of know-how between them.

Torabhaig Cnoc Na Moine is the first of the legacy bottlings to introduce some Sherry cask influence. Some of the whisky fully matured in Oloroso sherry casks and a small part fully matured in Pedro Ximenez Sherry Casks. The Sherry casks lend a sweeter, richer flavour and a darker colour.

Bottled non chill-filtered and not coloured at 46% ABV.

Cnoc Na Moine translates literally as “Hill of Peat” and is a hill located in Knoydart which is visible over the Sound of Sleat from the distillery.