Hi everyone,
Early last year a new distillery started up on the Isle of Skye, Torabhaig. But when you’ve just started a distillery, you don’t have anything to sell yet, so you come up with an alternative to make the money you desperately need to keep the banks at bay. Some sell gin, some sell casks, some sell others whisky and pass it off under their own brand.
These guys have done something a bit different. Become an independent bottler, and prove you know how to select and put whisky together.
I was lucky enough to meet and be working with Bruce in the sweatbox of Limburg Whisky Fair, who had some of their stuff. Funny story: on the Mossburn box, it states that the master distiller is ‘Robert Haig,’ but there is no Robert Haig. When the guy was painting Torabhaig on the distillery front, he split it into To-Rab-Haig, and thus a hilarious in-joke was born! Pretty ballsy to put that on your packaging though, fairplay to ‘em!
Torabhaig New Make 62.5%
Colour: Clear
Body: Medium/Full
Nose: Malty, salt and black pepper, echoes of Talisker, earthy heather.
Taste: Soft and pretty complex for NMS, great oily mouthfeel, salt and black pepper.
Finish: Long length. Earthy, heathery chocolate.
Bloody good. Super impressed with this. I will be eagerly awaiting their matured whisky!
Mossburn Island Blended Malt 46%
Colour: Light Gold
Body: Medium/Full
Nose: Lots of Ledaig methinks! Young esters, green apple, Ledaiggian smoke, oily malt, vanilla, buttery. Fresh young smoky whisky with a nice balance.
Taste: Soft and light then builds with spice and smoke, black pepper, oily, malt, green apple, buttery. More like a Ledaig + Talisker here.
Finish: Medium/Long length. More green apple and fresh smoke. Some dry oak too.
For 30ish pounds this is a no brainer. Fantastic stuff from the guys behind Torabhaig. Tastes like there’s a bunch of young Ledaig in there. This was finished in Compass Box-esque recharred barrel ends.
78/100
Yes, I know I should have tried a bunch of their other stuff but its clear these guys know what they are doing!
Thanks for reading!
Scotch Review #636
Whisky Network Review #756
Network Average: 74.9
Best Score: 94
Worst Score: 12
0-49 Terrible
50-59 Bad
60-64 Just About OK
65-69 Ok to Good
70-74 Good
75-79 Very Good
80-84 Excellent
85-89 Superb
90+ Magnificent
Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.
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