A distillery has launched the first legal single malt whisky produced on the Scottish island in more than 200 years. On Thursday, the Isle of Tiree Distillery launched its inaugural whisky.
One of Scotland’s smallest whisky distilleries, it uses traditional whisky production methods to produce 2,000 litres of pure alcohol per year. Previously known as Tìr an Eòrna, which translates from Gaelic to the ‘Land of Barley’, Tiree was once home to no less than fifty illicit distilleries.
Unlike other Scottish islands, however, it was not until 2019 that a distillery was re-established. Founded by trad folk musicians Alain Campbell and Ian Smith, the Tiree Whisky Company Ltd aims to preserve and promote Tiree’s whisky heritage and revive distilling on the island.
The pair, who are both members of the award-winning band Trail West, started the first mash of what would become the Isle of Tiree Single Malt Scotch Whisky in 2020, with the casks maturing since then. They have also produced the popular Tyree Gin and Hebridean Pink Gin.
The Isle of Tiree Single Malt Scotch Whisky has the appearance of pale and glowing amber with tawny highlights, with sherry cask and virgin oak influences showing in colour. Meanwhile, it has a waxy and peppery taste with a finish of tingly spices and herbs.
Co-founder of the Tiree Whisky Company Ian Smith commented: “This is an important moment in the island’s history as we reconnect with an industry that was once such an important part of island life. As well as providing local employment, we hope that our distillery will encourage visitors from all over the world to come to our home on Tiree.”
Fellow co-founder Alain Campbell added: “We created our distillery to bring whisky production back to the island and this will be the first single malt whisky from Tiree in over 200 years. The distilling heritage of our island has inspired us since we were kids and we are immensely proud to bring whisky back to Tiree.
“We have strived to keep our production methods true to our ancestors – we use most traditional methods along with grain, water, fire and gravity – that’s all we need. We hand mash laureate malted barley in mesh mash bags – hoisted high on wooden blocks to lauter clear the wort into our oak mash tun.
“This is followed by an extra-long fermentation in our oak washbacks. First distillations take place in our wide copper washstills, followed by carefully distilling the spirit in our 300L spirit still. And then age our whisky in small casks and our maturation happens right on the rocky Tiree coastline.”
The first release of Isle of Tiree Single Malt Scotch Whisky is limited to only 800 bottles and retails at £199.99. Last year, an initial pre-sale of 400 bottles sold out in less than two hours.
More information about Isle of Tiree Single Malt Scotch Whisky can be found on the Isle of Tiree Distillery website.
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