Niall Culbertson
Distiller since 2017.
"Working here over the past nine years or so, you get to know the spirit really well - the stills, the smoke, the character that runs through everything we make."
NIALL CULBERTSON
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Niall grew up just a mile from the distillery and has lived on Skye his whole life - this is home. His father was a fisherman, and boats and the sea shaped how he remembers Torabhaig. With a background in biochemistry, he brings a technical eye to flavour, but says working at the distillery has taught him that whisky is as much an art as a science - getting a feel for the stills, the spirit, and knowing when to let it find its balance.
The Distillers' Series - Niall's First Edition
At Torabhaig, we believe whisky should tell a story of people as much as place.
The Distillers’ Series is Torabhaig’s experimental whisky range – where the people shaping the distillery are given the freedom to explore new ideas, flavours and techniques.
While each release reflects the perspective of its maker, every whisky remains rooted in the same stills, the same island and the same craft that define Torabhaig. Smoke with Taste defines Torabhaig’s house style. The Distillers’ Series offers something different and explores what else is possible.
When Torabhaig was first planned, the ambition was not only to make exceptional whisky, but to bring new people into the industry. Local men and women of different ages and backgrounds were invited to join the distillery and trained from the ground up in the craft of whisky making.
For our distiller Niall, his whisky is inspired by the sea that surrounds Skye, the influence of his fisherman father, and a lifelong connection to the water. Coastal air, family heritage and the quiet rhythm of the tide come together in a whisky that reflects both place and memory.
NIALL'S JOURNEYMAN DRAM
Base malt : Concerto
Speciality malt : 5% Brown Malt, 5% Dark Crystal
Yeast : Pinnacle MG+ and Safspirit M-1
Fermentation time : Long (90-120 hrs)
Fermentation temp : Standard (28-32 max temp)
Foreshots run : Short (5-10 minutes)
Spirit run : Longer (up to 4 hrs)
Spirit cut point : High for peated (66%)
Spirit phenols : 12 - 15ppm
The Distillers' Series is a chance to tell my story through the same stills I work with every day. When I got the chance to make a whisky for it, I wanted to do something that felt unmistakably Torabhaig, but reflected my side of Skye a bit more.
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I chose malts with sweet and caramel notes, and a lightly peated spirit, to build towards that idea of sweetness, smoke, salt and the sea. There's a softness to the smoke at Torabhaig that really suited that - something coastal and warming, rather than overpowering.
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The rum casks played a big part too. They brought more tropical fruit and sweetness forward, which worked really well with the coastal character I was looking for.
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The make: 90% lightly peated malt, 5% Dark Crystal, 5% Brown Malt. First fill bourbon, re-casked into refill rum barrels.
