Torabhaig The Distiller’s Series Niall’s First Edition Whisky 59.3%

Description

Torabhaig The Distiller’s Series Niall’s First Edition Whisky 59.3%

The Torabhaig Niall’s First Edition is one of the highly anticipated inaugural releases from Torabhaig’s new Distiller’s Series from the Isle of Skye. This exciting single malt whisky was crafted by Niall Culbertson, an original member of the production team, and is available for collectors and enthusiasts at Fareham Wine Cellar.

This release and Iona’s First Edition represent the first two chapters in the collection. Both Niall and Iona have worked at Torabhaig since distilling first started in 2017. Niall’s creation is inspired by the seas around Skye, days spent with his fisherman father, and a lifelong affinity to the water.

To honour this connection, Niall created a lightly peated spirit and finished it in premium rum casks, introducing a sweeter, more tropical dimension while retaining the distillery’s distinctive maritime character.

Torabhaig The Distiller’s Series Niall’s First Edition Whisky Profile

• The Recipe: Niall chose to make a peated malt with a specialised mash bill of 90% lightly peated malt, 5% Brown Malt, and 5% Dark Crystal.
• The Fermentation: An exceptionally long fermentation time extending up to 120 hours.
• The Maturation & Proof: Matured in quality ex-Bourbon and refill Rum casks, bottled at a robust cask strength of 59.3% ABV.
• The Label: Features stunning abstract label artwork created by local Skye artist Eilidh Mackenzie.

Niall’s First Edition Specification

• Base malt: 100% Concerto
• Speciality malt: 5% Brown Malt, 5% Dark Crystal
• Yeast strains: Pinnacle MG+ and Safspirit M-1
• Fermentation time: Long (90–120 hours)
• Fermentation temp: Standard (28–32°C max temp)
• Foreshots run: Short (5–10 minutes)
• Spirit run: Longer (up to 4 hours)
• Spirit cut point: High for peated (66%)
• Spirit phenols: Lightly Peated (12–15ppm)

These precise technical choices were designed to create a softer, less smoky expression with additional richness, sweetness, and complexity driven by the specialty malts and rum cask influence.

About Torabhaig’s Distiller’s Series

Every year, the distillery dedicates one full month exclusively to its team of nine craftsmen, granting each absolute creative freedom to produce their own unique batch. From selecting the barley variety and yeast strains to adjusting fermentation lengths, peat-reek levels, precise still cut points, and cask maturation styles, they take full ownership of the process.

When these experimental casks finally reach maturity and are deemed ready for bottling, the whisky carries the individual distiller’s name on the label—a proud milestone marking the moment they have truly earned their journeyman’s credentials.

About Torabhaig Distillery

Torabhaig is remarkably only the second legal distillery to open on the Isle of Skye in nearly two centuries, following the historic establishment of Talisker back in 1830. Founded in 2013 and owned by Mossburn Distillers, the operation is housed within a beautifully restored 19th-century stone farm steading, with the stills firing for the first time in 2017 after several years of painstaking renovation.

Featuring a clever removable slate roof for seamless access to its two traditional Forsyths of Rothes copper pot stills, the distillery utilises traditional Douglas Fir washbacks and generous copper contact during distillation to yield a signature fruit-forward spirit style. Drawing on pure island spring water, Torabhaig has the capacity to produce around 1.5 million bottles a year.