Isle of Harris – The Hearach (70cl, 46%)

The Hearach is a lightly peated single malt from Isle of Harris Distillery in Tarbert, in the Outer Hebrides, bottled at 46% in a 70cl bottle. It is a blend of several years of distillate, the youngest at least 5 years old, made from Concerto barley and peated to 12-15 ppm. It is unfiltered and has no added colour or caramel. The whisky matured in three cask types: first fill Bourbon casks from Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace, Spanish Oloroso casks and Spanish Fino casks. It then rested in large vats for at least 12 weeks before bottling. The blender describes light peat smoke, toasted malt, a hint of apple cake and machair flowers, with spice, candied ginger and honeycomb.