Isle of Raasay Distillery distillery information
Isle of Raasay Distillery sits at Borodale House, a converted Victorian hotel on the Inner Hebridean island of Raasay, tucked between Skye and the Scottish mainland. It holds a notable distinction: the first legal distillery the island has ever had, despite Raasay’s long history of illicit distilling once curbed by 18th and 19th century tax laws.
The distillery is operated by R&B Distillers Limited, founded in 2014 by Alasdair Day and Bill Dobbie. Production began on-site in September 2017, and the first single malt to carry the Isle of Raasay name was released in 2020, following a series of preview bottlings called Raasay While We Wait.
Water is drawn from Tobar na Bà Bàine, a Celtic Iron Age well on the island, mineral-rich from the volcanic and sandstone geology around it. A single pair of copper pot stills, a 5,000 litre wash still with a water-jacketed lyne arm and a 3,600 litre spirit still with an inclined lyne arm, produce a spirit split between peated and unpeated styles. Six stainless steel washbacks allow unusually long fermentation, up to 118 hours, which the distillery credits for the fruity, complex character of the new make.
Raasay also produces a gin using ten botanicals including island-grown juniper, distilled on the same site.
Visitors reach the distillery only by ferry from Skye, and the Island region as a whole rewards that extra effort with some of Scotland’s most remote and characterful whisky-making.
Isle of Raasay Whiskies
Core range:
- Isle of Raasay Single Malt, known as The Draam, matured across six cask types (first-fill ex-Rye whiskey, virgin Chinkapin oak, and ex-Bordeaux red wine casks, each holding both peated and unpeated spirit before being married together). It’s bottled at 46.4% ABV, natural colour, non-chill filtered.
- Dùn Cana (a sherry quarter cask expression)
- The Chinkapin
- Cask Strength bottling, which won World’s Best Scotch Whisky at the 2025 Las Vegas Global Spirits Awards.
Isle of Raasay Gin sits alongside the whisky range.
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Isle of Raasay Distillery |
| Region | Island |
| Country | Scotland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Water source | Tobar na Bà Bàine well |
| Malting floor | No |
| Owned by | R&B Distillers Limited |
| Address |
Borodale House, |
| Visitor centre | Yes |
| Website | https://www.raasaydistillery.com |
| https://www.twitter.com/RaasayWhisky | |
| https://www.facebook.com/RaasayDistillery/ | |
| Community | Slàinte Club |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | 1 tonne | 1 |
| Washback | 5,000 litres | 6 (Stainless steel, cooling jackets) |
| Wash still | 5,000 litres | 1 (Copper pot, water-jacketed lyne arm) |
| Spirit Still | 3,600 litres | 1 (Copper pot, inclined lyne arm, column still attached) |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | 200,000 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Raasay is pronounced RAH-say. The name isn’t Gaelic in origin. It’s generally traced to Old Norse and is usually translated as “roe deer island,” reflecting the island’s Viking-era history.
Yes. Despite Raasay’s long history of illicit distilling, curbed by 18th and 19th century tax laws, Isle of Raasay Distillery is the first legal distillery the island has ever had. It sits at Borodale House, a converted Victorian hotel on the Inner Hebridean island of Raasay, between Skye and the Scottish mainland.
The distillery is operated by R&B Distillers Limited, founded in 2014 by Alasdair Day and Bill Dobbie. Production began on-site in September 2017, and the first single malt to carry the Isle of Raasay name was released in 2020, following a series of preview bottlings called Raasay While We Wait.
Water is drawn from Tobar na Ba Baine, a Celtic Iron Age well on the island, mineral-rich thanks to the volcanic and sandstone geology around it.
The distillery uses a single pair of copper pot stills: a 5,000 litre wash still with a water-jacketed lyne arm, and a 3,600 litre spirit still with an inclined lyne arm, producing spirit split between peated and unpeated styles. Six stainless steel washbacks allow unusually long fermentation, up to 118 hours, which the distillery credits for the fruity, complex character of its new make.
Yes. Raasay also produces a gin using ten botanicals, including island-grown juniper, distilled on the same site.
Visitors can only reach the distillery by ferry from Skye, and the Island region as a whole rewards that extra effort with some of Scotland’s most remote and characterful whisky-making.
The core range centres on Isle of Raasay Single Malt, known as The Draam, matured across six cask types, first-fill ex-Rye whiskey, virgin Chinkapin oak, and ex-Bordeaux red wine casks, each holding both peated and unpeated spirit before being married together, bottled at 46.4% ABV, natural colour and non-chill filtered. The range also includes Dun Cana, a sherry quarter cask expression, The Chinkapin, and a Cask Strength bottling that won World’s Best Scotch Whisky at the 2025 Las Vegas Global Spirits Awards. Isle of Raasay Gin sits alongside the whisky range.
Yes, Isle of Raasay Distillery has a visitor centre.