Scotch Whisky Review #381: Torabhaig Legacy 2017 (Inaugural Release)

Distillery: Torabhaig.

Region: Island.

Age: 3 Year. Distilled in 2017 and bottled in 2020..

ABV: 46.0%.

Price: Pour courtesy of /u/KissMeElon.

Color: 0.2, Pale Straw.

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Nose: Comes across as lightly peated. There are some maritime notes, but none overpoweringly salty. Some meaty, savory, umami notes come through towards the back end..

Palate: Very similar to the nose here. It’s a mix of some maritime, briney notes along with a more savory element. The meaty, umami notes are reminiscent of something like the Arran Heavily Peated I’ve had before.

Finish: Short. Meat juices is the main note.

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Conclusion: I’ve not had a lot of inaugural release whiskies from the new distilleries popping up all over Scotland. I had no idea of what to expect or if I should even have any expectations pouring a bit of Torabhaig’s first crack at it. I’ll have to say, while it naturally comes across as young and unpolished, it does seem to be quite promising. I was curious what route they might take, would they just be looking to be Talisker 2.0?, and it seems like this inaugural release seems to give some pointers. The first part of the nose and palate are so evocative of the other Skye distillery with a ton of that maritime character. The back half, however, is more reminiscent Bruichladdich’s heavier peated products. It gives a nice combination of salty and savory. I’m quite pleased with what this is and look forward to more from them!

Final Score: 77.

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Scotch Whisky Review #381, Island Review #57, Whisky Network Review #535

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.