A quartet of young Torabhaig


January 27, 2026

A quartet of young Torabhaig

We’ve got a few ultra-rare Taliskers in the pipeline, but since we had plenty towards the end of last year, we’ll be tasting some young Torabhaig today instead. You’re right, they must be young, as the new Skye distillery only started operating in 2017.

(Torabhaig)

Torabhaig ‘Sound of Sleat’ (46%, OB, Legacy Series, Chapter No.4, 2025)

Colour: white wine. Nose: we’re back on that rather fatty peat, brimming with iodine and seaweed, which we found most appealing when we first tried Torabhaig’s inaugural vintage that was a 2017. This one carries on with oyster shell and damp chalk, nothing too complex really, but then again, complexity isn’t always what one’s after, is it. Mouth: a touch of new oak makes an entrance, bringing along pepper and curry notes that slightly throw off the malt’s freshness, though the rest falls neatly into place with sooty, ashy, and coastal touches. Finish: long, saline and extremely peppery, inevitably calling to mind that other nearby malt beginning with T. Comments: the new oak’s a slight misstep, but overall, this remains most charming. I did much prefer ‘Cnoc Na Moine’ though.
SGP:466 - 84 points.

Torabhaig 2018/2023 ‘Club Reserve Release No.5’ (60.7%, OB, Barbados rum barrel, cask #1056, 293 bottles)

Rum, why not. It’s become quite common, but I remember the days when those very, very rare Springbanks matured in rum casks had everyone clamouring for a bottle. Colour: white wine. Nose: lamp oil and graphite grease. That’s all for now, but we’re rather fond of it. With water: flint and basalt, plus a touch of fresh rubber. Is that the rum speaking? Mouth (neat): I don’t believe the rum’s really brought much to the conversation, and overall this feels rather brutal at cask strength. Huge brine and a splash of cologne—it surely can’t stay that way, fancy a wager? With water: there we are, we’ve landed back on the malt’s DNA, sea water, seaweed, pepper, all carried on a fairly oily base. Finish: long, with a nice peppery bitterness, while the ashes firmly take over the aftertaste. Comments: a lovely wee creature, with a rum influence that’s probably rather incidental.
SGP:457 - 87 points.

Torabhaig 7 yo 2018/2025 (56.7%, Dràm Mor, 1st fill bourbon, cask #1160, 241 bottles)

I always think it’s excellent news when respected independents choose your malt—and vice versa. You know what I mean. I do think the more insular brands (love you all) tend to get it wrong, sooner or later. Colour: white wine. Nose: this is fresher, more floral (dandelion) and fruitier (apple) than the official bottlings, at least at first nosing. Possibly more elegant too… Hints of beeswax, which is always splendid news. With water: we’re back to the source—peat, smoke, a working kiln, virgin wool… Mouth (neat): clean cut lemon and ashes, absolutely spot on. The barley comes through more clearly too. With water: a burst of lime and sea water, just what we’d been waiting for. Slight mercurochrome. Finish: long and as sharp as a blade. Comments: lovely wee creature, that’s all I’ve got to say.
SGP:457 - 87 points.

Torabhaig 7 yo 2018/2025 (60.4%, Hannah Whisky Merchants, Samhain Series, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #1137, 215 bottles)

This should be close to the previous one. By the way, I was just thinking recently that, given how often we taste coastal Scottish malts, how is it we’re still not speaking Gaelic? Anyway, Samhain would apparently mean ‘the first day of November, celebrated by the ancient Celts as a festival marking the beginning of winter.’ And there we are, running late again… Oh, and the name of this bottle is ‘The Quiraing, Playground of The Giants’. One can only bow in respect. Colour: straw. Nose: very close to the previous one, but a tad rounder, a little oilier, and just a touch softer. With water: apple and pear juice coming to the fore, in balance with the brine, but it remains quite close. Mouth (neat): virtually the same whisky on the palate, which of course is splendid news. Very nicely incisive, with heightened salinity, ashes, lemon… With water: sea water! Finish: very long, salty and full of green pepper. It gains surprising vigour. Comments: I slightly, very slightly prefer this version to the previous one, but not enough to alter the score. No, we’ll never do half-points, let alone decimals.
SGP:567 - 87 points.

We’re eagerly awaiting the first 10-year-old Torabhaig, so we can compare it to one of our favourite ‘core’ malts, the most serene majesty (what?) Talisker 10!

Check the index of all Torabhaig we've tasted