📌 Inverarish, Isle of Raasay
★★★
Opening its doors to the public in January 2018, Raasay Distillery is the Isle of Raasay’s very first whisky distillery. Or should we say legal distillery – because illicit distilling no doubt existed at various times in this remote island’s past. The operation is a small one – equipment is pretty much squeezed into a single room (photography wasn’t permitted in here on our tour) – and production only began in 2017, so Raasay spirit could only be sold as whisky from 2020 at the earliest. In 2019, our informative, friendly tour included a tasting of While We Wait – a blend of peated and unpeated expressions from elsewhere in Scotland in proportions which we imagine will roughly mirror the finished product. With so many distilleries now available to visit, why choose this one? Well, the beautifully-designed building has a stunning outlook across the Narrows of Raasay towards Skye’s Cuillin mountain range which is hard to beat. And were certainly given the impression that this new venture is breathing a new lease of life into a community where local jobs may be otherwise scarce.
🌍 Location
📌 By minor road 0.5 mi east of the ferry terminal, Raasay
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NG 550364
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.351855,-6.073818
🚢 Ferry to Raasay (0.5 mi) from Sconser, Skye – which is in turn served by buses
🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
⌚ Daily, probably March to early November; Thursday to Sunday, early November to probably February – booking advised
🎫 £15+ adult / £5+ child depending on tour type
💬 If only visiting the main attractions at the south end of the island, bringing a car across from Skye is usually an unnecessary expense. The quickest route from the ferry terminal is a 15-min walk (each way) on a minor road.
