Every young distillery has a story to tell - ours just happens to unfold one bottle at a time.
Through the Legacy Series, we’ve been capturing the evolution of our house style, Smoke with Taste, as it develops in real time. In this blog, whisky writer Beth Whymark traces that journey - exploring what each release reveals about our spirit, our team, and the road to our first 10-year-old.
The challenge of showing people who you are and what you stand for is one all new distilleries grapple with. As the saying goes, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression!
Rather than pinning its hopes on a particular expression or milestone, Torabhaig is taking us on a journey. It’s fitting in an industry with such a rich oral history - and what better accompaniment is there to a glass of whisky than a good story?
This journey has coalesced into the Legacy Series, a collection of limited-edition single malts charting Torabhaig’s progress towards its first age-statement release (set to be a 10-year-old). It’s rare that we can get this close to the iterative process of spirit development, taking a peek behind the curtain, and the distillery has rewarded our curiosity. Each Legacy Series release is individual and intentional, revealing a new side to Torabhaig and a new lesson to learn.
Whisky maker Neil Mathieson tells me the distilling team spent their first year experimenting with malts, yeasts, cut points and casks to generate the building blocks for Torabhaig’s single malt. On the subject of flavour development, Neil says they have no desire to “weigh down” the whiskies with cask influence - spirit character comes first. “We would never want to disguise the core profile of the distillery,” he explains, “but add facets and nuances to give a range of flavours around that core.”
The series’ inaugural whisky was produced from malted barley peated to 55-60ppm and matured in first-fill bourbon barrels. It was the world’s first look at what Torabhaig has termed “smoke with taste”, balancing the peat’s phenolic power with spirit and cask characters.
The aroma is buttery and citrussy, like lemon curd and pastry, with vanilla, green apple, and hints of hay, malt and briny smoke. On the palate there’s oily lemon peel, meringue, toffee apple, cooked apricots and buttery croissant, backed up by fragrant peat. It finishes vanilla-sweet and a little briny.
There’s tantalising promise in this single malt. Despite its youthfulness it has great depth and balance, and those first-fill bourbon casks are an ideal match for the spirit and smoke.
Allt Gleann: Establishing a style
Allt Gleann, which translates as ‘old glen’ in Gaelic, was distilled from malt peated to 77ppm and matured in a combination of first-fill bourbon barrels and refill casks.
It’s creamy and sweet initially: banoffee pie topped with milk chocolate shavings. Then come apple, cherry, marzipan, briny smoke and subtle roast parsnip. On the palate, herbaceous smoke is followed by caramel, baked apple, flaked almond, dried citrus peels and sponge cake, with nutty notes carrying into the finish.
This is a single malt that’s growing up: the sweetness has both evolved and been dialled down, adding an air of maturity and allowing more peat character to shine through.
Cnoc Na Mòine: A new direction
Translating as ‘hill of peat’ in Gaelic, Cnoc Na Mòine was the first expression in the Legacy Series to use sherry casks (oloroso and Pedro Ximénez) alongside ex-bourbon barrels.
On the aroma there’s chocolate-coated raisins, pillowy brioche, vanilla, candied orange peel and tinned cherries, with gentle smoke and spice. It feels plump and juicy on the palate, with plum jam, dried figs, chocolate-coated caramel wafers, a hint of milky coffee, and subtle sweet smoke. There’s a whack of raisinated fruit on the finish with pleasant tannins and gentle smoke.
This is lighter than you may expect a sherry-matured single malt to be. The casks enhance rather than mask, with sprightly fruit flavours and wisps of smoke you can chase on the nose and palate.
Sound of Sleat: Inspired by home
The latest chapter, released in May 2025, was named for the stretch of water which separates the southern end of Skye from the Scottish mainland. It was distilled from heavily peated malt (78ppm) and matured in three cask types: new heavily charred casks made from American white oak, and first-fill and refill bourbon barrels.
Richer fruit notes of cherry and plum on the nose, alongside salted caramel, cinnamon-flavoured breakfast cereal, yoghurt-coated banana chips, fresh lemon peel, oatcakes and smoked sea salt. Briny smoke comes first on the palate, moving to zesty lemon, baked apple and vanilla custard-filled pastries. It’s a little spicier on the finish, with notes of white tea and some grip from that new oak.
It’s interesting to compare this with the Legacy: both being bourbon matured, there are similarities in their profiles, but the interplay of cask and smoke has shifted. It’s more elegant, with the new oak adding beneficially to flavour and texture.
The Legacy Series is more than a stop-gap. It’s a diverse and well-composed showcase of where Torabhaig is, and more importantly, where it’s going.
Which is your favourite expression in the Legacy Series? Leave a comment below and let us know!
