Isle of Raasay Na Sia Single Cask Peated Ex-Rye Cask

A virtual tasting from Good Spirits Co. in Glasgow on November 24, 2022, featured the Na Sia single cask line from Raasay. Before Raasay launched its own malt whisky, I had the chance to sample aging spirit from this collection. I've contrasted the current whisky with the previously tasted unaged spirit for comparison, detailed at the conclusion. Smell: Gentle smoke, antiseptic, medicinal ointment, root beer, and summer fruits. Taste: Barnyard, earthy, and unconventional. Notes of sweet licorice candies, dandelion and burdock, and dark fruit and berry confectionery. Aftertaste: An extended finish with leather, licorice, moist wood, and forest floor. A saline quality and more dark fruit flavors emerge. The smoky character is quite damp on the finish. Compared to: Spirit aged for 29 months in used Woodford Reserve Rye barrels. This 29-month-old spirit is dominated by peat. The aroma offers very little, just a touch of peat and antiseptic, and that's about it. The palate is mostly damp peat with some aniseed and perhaps a faint sweetness. The Raasay representative confirmed that early Na Sia Rye cask releases utilized Woodford Reserve Rye, but subsequent versions might incorporate different Rye casks. This expression tied for third place among the six samples, receiving 18% of the votes for the evening's favorite. Sixty-five percent of attendees indicated they liked the whisky.