In life, some things are inevitable, and change is most certainly one of them. While many fear change, it is not necessarily a bad thing. Ignore it, and you’ll be left in the past. Embrace it, and you can prepare for the future.

The whisky distillery business is a business that is most definitely embracing change. As global focus shifts to more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, distilleries have adjusted the way in which they produce their whisky, and the results speak for themselves.

Make no mistake about it, the whisky distillery industry is changing, yet the key to success is finding the right balance between past, present, and future. Achieve this, and change can be as good as a rest, as evidenced here with the superb Isle of Raasay Distillery and the selection of whiskies they produce.

Small Island, Big Flavours

The Isle of Raasay Distillery, which is located on the remote Hebridean Isle of Raasay, became the first legal distillery on the small island when it opened in 2017. In their six years of operation, they’ve gone from strength to strength, and their single malt Scotch whisky is nothing short of exceptional.

When describing Scotland, it’s easy to use buzzwords such as ‘remote’ to try and romanticise the region and appeal to people who want a little peace and quiet in their lives. Get to these so-called “remote” areas however, and you’ll find that they’re full of tourists and about as remote as Edinburgh during the Fringe. The Isle of Raasay however, really is remote, as it is home to just 160 residents.

Situated on the site of a now disused hotel called Borodale House, owned by R&B Distillers, and founded back in 2014 by Alasdair Day and Bill Dobbie, the distillery began its operations in 2017. Thanks to a plentiful supply of mineral-enriched water thanks to the sandstone and volcanic rock found on the island, the whisky produced here has an unmistakable flavour and aroma.

Distilled in copper pot stills and matured in a selection of oak casks, the distillery easily produces 940,000 litres of spirit every single year. It also has its own visitor centre and has one of the finest views of any distillery in the region, and dare we say, the entire world.