Proudly named after the inhabitants of its birthplace, The Hearach by Isle of Harris Distillery is a lightly peated single malt Scotch whisky that is deeply connected with the remote island from which it originates. It is thoughtfully composed to reflect the one-of-a-kind character of the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides, focusing on three qualities above all: character, complexity, and balance. To soak in as much of its unique surroundings as possible, The Hearach is made from local ingredients by local people, and matured in the Isle of Harris Distillery’s on-site warehouses on local soil.

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Age-wise, it contains malts matured between 4 and 7.5 years. And cask-wise, it features quite a special recipe, which centers around ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks – with a small percentage of Fino sherry casks added to further coin The Hearach’s distinct character. As the Isle of Harris Distillery prefers full maturations over finishes, all vatted whiskies are exclusively matured in their respective wood types. Before bottling, they get married in big, old sherry butts that barely transport any flavors anymore. Yet, these vessels give the different liquids an undisturbed environment to settle down and blend in with each other.

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One more thing to mention is the heavy, custom-made bottle that was aptly designed by Stranger & Stranger from London. It’s inspired by the famous Harris Tweed, an artisanal piece of cloth handmade only on the Isle of Harris as well as the directly adjacent Isle of Lewis. As with the whisky, the distillery team has also knocked the ball out of the park with the presentation: It’s super classy, highly recognizable, and strongly inspired by the place the Hearachs call their home. Plus, it contains a number of fun details that you might not see on first glimpse, but will discover bit after bit when you spend more quality time with the bottle.

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But how does The Hearach smell, taste, and resound once swallowed down? At the German launch party held in my hometown of Hamburg, I had the chance to try this newly released island malt for myself. For this, the Isle of Harris Distillery’s distributor Vibrant Stills (Cheers, Corry and Didi) invited a small group of business partners, specialized dealers, whisky writers, and friends of the distillery to the high-toned Hafen-Klub for an intimate 3-hour event – and luckily my name happened to be on the guest list, too. Especially for this occasion, both the distillery’s CEO Simon Erlanger and International Brand Development Exectutive Eilidh MacDonald flew over from Scotland. They were perfect ambassadors for the Isle of Harris in general and its first-ever official whisky production site in particular. The tales they told of how the Isle of Harris Distillery came to be and what it means for the island it stands on were truly inspiring. In between, we also got to hear beautiful music from harpist Fatima Fiach, who had come all the way from Kassel to enrich the evening with a fine selection of traditional Scottish pieces. Drams, stories, and songs shared with friends and like-minded folks – it’s undoubtedly a perfect formula for having the best of times!

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And now – finally – my personal tasting notes for The Hearach. Over the course of the evening, I drank three generously filled glasses of it. So I had the chance to get to know the dram quite a bit. The first thing I recognized: The Hearach is wonderfully smooth and silken. At least in part, this quality can be attributed to the fact that the whisky is made with especially soft water (which flows over gneiss rocks that are about 2.5 billion years old). In general, I would place the Isle of Harris Distillery’s debute expression on the lighter side of the scale. Still, the drop has some body and some robustness, too. And it takes you and your senses on a very exciting and rewarding journey when you sniff it, taste it, and gulp it down!

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To the nostrils, The Hearach first presents itself a little calm and dryish (but also colorful). Among others, I smell pancake, vanilla pudding, citrus zest, lemon curd, and – for a maritime touch – chalk and shells; all these scents are covered by a thin blanket of powderized grey pepper. Also, I make out a “camembert with cowberries”-like quality. When given a little time to breath, the whisky’s bouquet loses a bit of its dryness as a dash of sweetened lemon juice joins in with the other aromas. Smoke? Not so much at this point. On the palate, my first sensations are sweet and stimulating. I get canned fruits (peach, cherry) as well as pureed apple, runny honey, fluffy vanilla, and creamy caramel. Plus a mineral component. At this stage, The Hearach’s cold and ashen peatiness becomes more noticeable, too. It enshrouds the other flavors like wafts of mist. Finally, the aftertaste emphasizes on sweetness and smokiness, nicely balanced out with each other. The fruits become a tad more mushy and autumnal at this point (plum, apple); the sweet treats continue to delight the taste buds (lollipops, fudge); and the smoke becomes a wee bit stronger than earlier (still cold and ashen). Prior to fading, The Hearach proudly displays its island heritage one last time, adding thought-provoking notes of moist stones and weather-beaten harbor walls to the highly satisfying mix.

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Before I come to a close, there is one more aspect of the Isle of Harris Distillery that I’d like to speak about, namely its pride of being a “social distillery”. Whereas one might lightly take this label as yet another marketing phrase, there is a lot more to it in this case. To understand this, one must look a bit deeper into the recent past of the Isle of Harris. From 1950 to 2000, the remote islands popularity had almosed halved, going down from about 4,000 to just 2,000 inhabitants. The main reason for this: Jobs were scarce. As a consequence, especially young people tended to go to the mainland to work or study.

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At one point, American-born musiologist Anderson Bakewell, who’s always felt tightly connected to the Isle of Harris, thought of ways to change that. Ultimately, he came to the conclusion that a distillery – which, if done right, can persist for centuries – could do the trick. On the one hand, it would create more jobs. On the other hand, it would direct the eyes of the world to the Isle of Harris (making it a sought-after tourist location for visitors from all across the globe). After careful planning and close exchange with the locals, the idea took form: In 2011, substantial funding was secured. And in 2015, production began. When it opened its doors, the Isle of Harris Distillery was run by a team of ten. Today, it employs a total of 50 staff – with an average age of just 25 years old! The things these passionate people have achieved so far, are highly impressive. And now that their first whisky is out, a whole new path has opened up in front of them. As a fan and friend from afar, I look forward to accompanying them on this ride – preferably with a glass of The Hearach in my hand!

by Tobi

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The drams:

Isle of Harris Gin (Gin / Islands / NAS / 45% / ~50 EUR)
The Hearach – First Release (Single Malt / Islands / NAS / 46% / ~79 EUR)

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Isle of Harris @ Web: https://harrisdistillery.com/ (Distillery)
Alba Import @ Web: https://www.albaimport.de/ (Distributor)

*** I got kindly invited to the event by Alba Import. ***