Nose: Gentle, soft smoke that is half-way between peat-reek and a bonfire of burning leaves, grass clippings and heather from a flower garden. It has notes of vanilla, honey, steamed asparagus and demure citrus fruit and there is a touch of maritime brine to the nose as well. Overall it is reminiscent of Highland Park crossed with Old Pulteney and it’s fresh, light and very agreeable. Palate: Maritime salt up front with vegetal and herbal flavours supported by light smoke. As it develops some sweetness emerges but it’s not sugary, instead it has the sweet/sour taste of baked cereals (rye bread? pumpernickel?) with a touch of molasses balanced by artichoke brine and black pepper. It’s earthy in character but there is also an intriguing tannic red wine note – just a hint – drifting about. The texture is pleasant but not particularly creamy or full. Finish: Medium. Malt, cereal, cracked black pepper and barley sugar with a zephyr of peat smoke in the aftertaste along with some brisk, drying tannins. A very pleasant and well-balanced malt whisky. It is youthful but in no way faulty or inferior because of that. It reminds me of many other maritime, mildly smoky young whiskies. This release was a blend of peated and unpeated malts from Raasay, each of which was matured in a combination of three casks. The wood selection was excellently chosen and has produced a young whisky that has a coquettish flair and just enough cask influence. You certainly could not say this is cask dominated or even cask driven, as the distillate character shines through clearly. It also develops in the glass, starting out very crisp but developing depth and complexity as it rests. It’s delightful neat but in the interests of science I added a dash of water to the dram. This flattened the nose quite a bit (which is not unusual for a young peated whisky) and brought out more sweetness while rounding off the peppery spices. It was interesting to try it that way, and arguably it makes the whisky easier to enjoy, but I thought it lost something in the process. I’m mentally adding Isle of Raasay to my growing list of new Scottish distilleries to follow and sample regularly in future. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)