Abhainn Dearg has slowly been making its way to the front of the line of my favourite distilleries in Scotland. Set up in 2008 by Marko, it was the first legal distillery on the outer Hebrides since 1829, when the old Stornoway distillery closed its doors and was demolished. Abhainn Dearg, which means Red River in Gaelic, is unlike any other distillery in Scotland, with all the barely coming from the isle of Lewis and the whole production, maturation and bottling happening on the island.

The malting process gets done on a malt table, which is also unique here in Scotland. The whisky itself is peated and can be peated to different levels just, depending on how the wind blows on the day. This release is at cask strength 56% and has been fully matured in a PX cask, which gives it a lovely toffee sweetness, but there is also a costly note to it, making this a dream that is very easy to drink and difficult to put down.

-Calum Diack, Quaich Bar Manager