The Hearach is the exciting first whisky produced at the Isle of Harris Distillery.
Encapsulating the island, Harris describe the Hearach (meaning 'person from Harris' in Gaelic) as "Woven from People and Place"...
It's put together by one of youngest distilling teams in Scotland with an average age of 25. The distillery opened in 2015 with the help of the community on Harris, aiming to create and provide sustainable employment for generations to come through the disillation of delicious Gin and Whisky.
The water for the Hearach is sourced from Abhainn Cnoc a’ Charrain. It is the softest of any Scottish distillery. The spirits is made from 100% Scottish Concerto Barley, peated to a very light 12-15ppm. It's disilled in the bespoke copper stills at Harris, and matured in a hand-picked array of oak casks by the shores of the Atlantic, near the west-coast village of Ardhasaig.
Casks: First-Fill Bourbon Barrels (Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace)
Oloroso Spanish Oak Butts
Fino Spanish Oak Butts
Tasting Note from the Distillery:
"There are so many complex layers of flavour, and it will be different for everyone. But, I get a gentle peat smoke on the first sip which reminds me of island home fires burning when I was growing up. It comes along with a toasted maltiness. I can also taste homemade apple sauce and smell machair flowers, particularly white clover which springs up on our west coast every summer. Mixed spices appear, and an old-fashioned sweetness from things like candied ginger, vanilla, and honeycomb. Finally, there’s a long, clotted-cream note, mixed with a lasting sense of new leather”
Shona Macleod, Distillery Blender
