Abhainn Dearg
SCOTCH SINGLE MALT WHISKIES > A
ABHAINN DEARG
40 %
500 ML Bottle
THE SPIRIT OF LEWIS
Distillation Date: 10/2/2010
Cask Number: 08 2010
1000 Numbered Bottles
Non Chill Filtered
Bottled by Hand
Oak Cask
Distilled by: Mark Tayburn - Founder
Abhainn Dearg Distillery, Carnish, Isle of Lewis
Outer Hebrides
ABHAINN DEARG, Carnish, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides
Just 1000 x 50 ml bottles of "The Spirit of Lewis"have been released from Abhainn Dearg distillery on the Hebridean Isle of Lewis, with 500 being earmarked for the U K and 500 for mainland Europe.
Each is signed by founder Mark Tayburn. According to a spokesperson for Scotland's Westernmost distillery, which cam on stream in September 2008, "The Spirit of Lewis" is a traditional Outer Hebridean dram, a relatively young spirit, matured for a short period of time in a sherry cask. It is then reduced to 40.0 % A B V".
The result is a spirit with a grassy nose of tinned pears, with the emphasis on tin, sweetcereal, and a mildly herbal note. Reduced with water, there is a distinct impression of houseplant cuttings. Quite voluptuous in the mouth, with plump barley, and very drinkable.
The finish is short to medium in length, gently spicy and slightly metallic, with a final fruit and nut chocolate taste. Too young to be allowed out on its own for long, but this is an extremely promising "work in progress"and with a few more years behind it Abhainn Dearg could be a serious dram indeed.
500 ML Bottle
THE SPIRIT OF LEWIS
Distillation Date: 10/2/2010
Cask Number: 08 2010
1000 Numbered Bottles
Non Chill Filtered
Bottled by Hand
Oak Cask
Distilled by: Mark Tayburn - Founder
Abhainn Dearg Distillery, Carnish, Isle of Lewis
Outer Hebrides
ABHAINN DEARG, Carnish, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides
Just 1000 x 50 ml bottles of "The Spirit of Lewis"have been released from Abhainn Dearg distillery on the Hebridean Isle of Lewis, with 500 being earmarked for the U K and 500 for mainland Europe.
Each is signed by founder Mark Tayburn. According to a spokesperson for Scotland's Westernmost distillery, which cam on stream in September 2008, "The Spirit of Lewis" is a traditional Outer Hebridean dram, a relatively young spirit, matured for a short period of time in a sherry cask. It is then reduced to 40.0 % A B V".
The result is a spirit with a grassy nose of tinned pears, with the emphasis on tin, sweetcereal, and a mildly herbal note. Reduced with water, there is a distinct impression of houseplant cuttings. Quite voluptuous in the mouth, with plump barley, and very drinkable.
The finish is short to medium in length, gently spicy and slightly metallic, with a final fruit and nut chocolate taste. Too young to be allowed out on its own for long, but this is an extremely promising "work in progress"and with a few more years behind it Abhainn Dearg could be a serious dram indeed.
The Shoeburn was in full production around 1833 and records state that the spirit was in ‘great demand’, although it also mentions that little of the whisky left the island, that the great demand came from the town of Stornoway where ‘considerable quantities of spirit’ were bought.
Further afield, an offer in 1835 by Mr A. Robertson requested he could act as a London agent. Mr Robertson stated he had London and Indian connections and he could sell 1,000 to 2000 gallons of whisky. The outcome of this wasn’t known and Mackenzie was experiencing financial problems. The distillery appears to have closed down in or around 1840 the exact reason isn’t known. In 1844 the island was sold on to Sir James Matheson, a complete abstainer and prohibitionist, who demolished the buildings and replaced them with Lews Castle.
One character associated with the distillery was the last distiller in charge, a Mr Thomas Macnee, who was renowned for his generous measures. He became so well known that his name lives on in Gaelic ‘Tomhas mhÓr Mhic Mith’ he offered the many people who came to the distillery a good measure for cash including foreign sailors.
Although the Shoeburn was the last legal distillery on the island there is mention by the Elizabethan travel writer Fynes Moryson of three whiskies being produced as far back as the 1600’s, of one he wrote;
“A third sort is called usquebaugh baul, id est, usquebaugh, which at first taste affects all the members of the body: two spoonfuls of this last liquor is a sufficient dose; and if any man exceed this, it would presently stop his breath, and endanger his life.”
One hundred years on and another Mackenzie, this one the Rev. Colin Mackenzie of the parish of Stornoway writes in the Old Statistical Account of Scotland:
“The people of the town seldom have menservants engaged for the year; and it is a curious circumstance, that, time out of rememberance, their maidservants were in the habit of drinking, every morning, a wine glass full of whisky, which their mistress gave them; this barbarous custom became so well established by length of time, that if the practice of it should happen to be neglected or forgotten in a family, even once, discontent and idleness throughout the day, on the part of the maid or maids, would be the sure consequence.”
Prior to the Shoeburn distillery two other producers of illegal whisky were well known and had the support of the local populace, these were located in Coll and Gress. These two illicit stills had the reputation of producing quality whisky and it was a matter of personal preference as to whose was best.
The Isle of Lewis’ only legal distillery, in its capital Stornoway (and named after it), only ran for two years in the 1850s. After that, Lewisians had to import their Scotch from the mainland, or maybe source it from illicit local operations.
All of that changed in 2008 when Marko Tayburn built a distillery at Red River [Abhainn Dearg] on the western coast of the island making this officially the most remote whisky-making site in Scotland.
Hebrideans are resourceful by nature – they have to be – so when it came to the stills, Tayburn didn’t go, like everyone else, to Forsyth’s of Rothes but designed and built them himself, modelling them on an old illicit still he had discovered. In addition there is a pair of small mash tuns, wooden washbacks (all bought in) and a fermentation regime which lasts for four days.
The stills have elongated necks which look a little like witches’ hats and thin descending lyne arms which run into external worm tubs. A mix of unpeated and peated spirit is made.
2018 - 10yr Old Single Malt
Having released our first single malt at three years. We are now taking orders via telephone or email for our Ten Year Old Single Malt! The first legal distillery in the Outer Hebrides and the first ten year old is almost ready!
We produce The Spirit of Lewis, a traditional dram of new spirit that has received praise from around the world. Also available Abhainn Dearg T -shirts and keyrings.
Open to Visitors
We are open from 11am - 4pm (Closed for lunch 1pm to 2pm) - Monday to Saturday. Tours on the hour £10 per adult. Two tastings included (Spirit of Lewis/Abhainn Dearg Single Malt) .
The first single malt whisky from a distillery in the Outer Hebrides since 1829.
Abhainn Dearg Distillery (pronounced Aveen Jarræk), or Red River in English, is located in Uig on the Outer Hebridean Isle of Lewis. The distillery was founded by Mark Tayburn (Marko) and is the first legal whisky distillery in the Outer Hebrides in almost two hundred years.
Established in 2008 the first spirit to leave the island was in 2010 when two small casks of new spirit were sold. One went to Germany where it toured the whisky fairs with importers Alba Import. The second stayed a little closer to home, going to McSorleys Bar in Glasgow. Later a special signed bottling of new spirit called, The Spirit of Lewis, was offered and was quickly sold out.
The first Abhainn Dearg Single Malt was released in 2011, a three year old special release. Available online, bottles soon were winging their way around the world and the feedback was wonderful. No further bottling will be available till2018 when the first spirit laid down will be a mature ten year old single malt whisky.
In the six years since the distillery was founded it has achieved Marko's goal to produce a whisky, from fields (of barley) to bottle, within the Outer Hebrides. It has also made history and changed the whisky world forever.
ABHAINN DEARG RELEASES FIRST 10 YEAR OLD
December 2018
Isle of Lewis distillery Abhainn Dearg has released a 10-year-old single malt, the distillery’s oldest expression to date.
Abhainn Dearg 10 Year Old whisky
Milestone malts: The two Abhainn Dearg 10 Year Old whiskies mark a significant step in the distillery’s journey
Abhainn Dearg became Lewis’ first legal distillery for almost two centuries when it opened in 2008.
Its first 10-year-old single malt, released this winter, has been fully matured in ex-Bourbon casks originating from Kentucky’s Buffalo Trace distillery.
The whisky, which is bottled at 46% abv, is said to possess ‘a sweet nose and honeyed taste’, and is priced at £79.99 per 70cl bottle.
Only 10,000 bottles will be released over the next two years, as Abhainn Dearg manages its stocks to release older bottlings in the future.
Marko Tayburn, founder and head distiller at Abhainn Dearg, said: ‘The problem as a small producer is if you want to produce a 15-year-old or a 20-year-old, and you’re selling a lot of 10-year-old, you’re dipping into your stock.
‘It’s a constant juggle, a balance to get it right.’
The distillery has also produced a limited edition single cask whisky, the Abhainn Dearg 10 Year Old Special Release.
Filled from the first 10-year-old cask tapped by the distillery, only 100 bottles of the limited edition have been produced.
Also bottled at 46% abv, the Special Release is priced at £475 per 70cl bottle.
Both bottlings are available in the UK and internationally from the Abhainn Dearg website.
The distillery produces a mix of peated and unpeated spirit using custom-made stills based on the design of a now-defunct pot once used for making illegal whisky on the island
Capacity: 20.000 Ltrs.
Mash tun; 2 500kg stainless steel
Wah backs; 2 7500 ltrs douglas fir
Fermation time: 4 days
Wash still: 1 of 2112 Ltrs
Spirit still: 1 0f 2057 Ltrs
Both have very long necks and
steeply dexcending lye pipes
ending in 2 wooden worm tubs
Barley is 100 % grown on Lewis
2013
first 6 tonnes of Golden Promise
= 15 % of the requirment is harvested
2018
production is about 10.000 Ltrs
Bottled at 46 %
Capacity: 20.000 Ltrs
The Isle of Lewis’ only legal distillery, in its capital Stornoway (and named after it), only ran for two years in the 1850s. After that, Lewisians had to import their Scotch from the mainland, or maybe source it from illicit local operations.
All of that changed in 2008 when Marko Tayburn built a distillery at Red River [Abhainn Dearg] on the western coast of the island making this officially the most remote whisky-making site in Scotland.
Hebrideans are resourceful by nature – they have to be – so when it came to the stills, Tayburn didn’t go, like everyone else, to Forsyth’s of Rothes but designed and built them himself, modelling them on an old illicit still he had discovered. In addition there is a pair of small mash tuns, wooden washbacks (all bought in) and a fermentation regime which lasts for four days.
The stills have elongated necks which look a little like witches’ hats and thin descending lyne arms which run into external worm tubs. A mix of unpeated and peated spirit is made.
In December 2018 the distillery launched its first 10-year-old single malts – the oldest whisky to be produced by a legal distillery in the Outer Hebrides.
ABHAINN DEARG RELEASES FIRST 10 YEAR OLD
December 2018
Isle of Lewis distillery Abhainn Dearg has released a 10-year-old single malt, the distillery’s oldest expression to date.
Abhainn Dearg 10 Year Old whisky
Milestone malts: The two Abhainn Dearg 10 Year Old whiskies mark a significant step in the distillery’s journey
Abhainn Dearg became Lewis’ first legal distillery for almost two centuries when it opened in 2008.
Its first 10-year-old single malt, released this winter, has been fully matured in ex-Bourbon casks originating from Kentucky’s Buffalo Trace distillery.
The whisky, which is bottled at 46% abv, is said to possess ‘a sweet nose and honeyed taste’, and is priced at £79.99 per 70cl bottle.
Only 10,000 bottles will be released over the next two years, as Abhainn Dearg manages its stocks to release older bottlings in the future.
Marko Tayburn, founder and head distiller at Abhainn Dearg, said: ‘The problem as a small producer is if you want to produce a 15-year-old or a 20-year-old, and you’re selling a lot of 10-year-old, you’re dipping into your stock.
‘It’s a constant juggle, a balance to get it right.’
The distillery has also produced a limited edition single cask whisky, the Abhainn Dearg 10 Year Old Special Release.
Filled from the first 10-year-old cask tapped by the distillery, only 100 bottles of the limited edition have been produced.
Also bottled at 46% abv, the Special Release is priced at £475 per 70cl bottle.
Both bottlings are available in the UK and internationally from the Abhainn Dearg website.
The distillery produces a mix of peated and unpeated spirit using custom-made stills based on the design of a now-defunct pot once used for making illegal whisky on the island.
The history of whisky on the Isle of Lewis
The last legal distillery on the Isle of Lewis was the Shoeburn Distillery, built in the Shoeburn Gorge by Mr Stewart Mackenzie. The distillery was built at a cost of £14,000, and started production around 1829 or 1830, it was hoped to replace the many illicit stills that were situated all over the islands, closing the stills was also a means of improving the health and morals of the islanders, believed Mr Mackenzie!
The Shoeburn was in full production around 1833 and records state that the spirit was in ‘great demand’, although it also mentions that little of the whisky left the island, that the great demand came from the town of Stornoway where ‘considerable quantities of spirit’ were bought.
Further afield, an offer in 1835 by Mr A. Robertson requested he could act as a London agent. Mr Robertson stated he had London and Indian connections and he could sell 1,000 to 2000 gallons of whisky. The outcome of this wasn’t known and Mackenzie was experiencing financial problems. The distillery appears to have closed down in or around 1840 the exact reason isn’t known. In 1844 the island was sold on to Sir James Matheson, a complete abstainer and prohibitionist, who demolished the buildings and replaced them with Lews Castle.
One character associated with the distillery was the last distiller in charge, a Mr Thomas Macnee, who was renowned for his generous measures. He became so well known that his name lives on in Gaelic ‘Tomhas mhÓr Mhic Mith’ he offered the many people who came to the distillery a good measure for cash including foreign sailors.
Although the Shoeburn was the last legal distillery on the island there is mention by the Elizabethan travel writer Fynes Moryson of three whiskies being produced as far back as the 1600’s, of one he wrote;
“A third sort is called usquebaugh baul, id est, usquebaugh, which at first taste affects all the members of the body: two spoonfuls of this last liquor is a sufficient dose; and if any man exceed this, it would presently stop his breath, and endanger his life.”
One hundred years on and another Mackenzie, this one the Rev. Colin Mackenzie of the parish of Stornoway writes in the Old Statistical Account of Scotland:
“The people of the town seldom have menservants engaged for the year; and it is a curious circumstance, that, time out of rememberance, their maidservants were in the habit of drinking, every morning, a wine glass full of whisky, which their mistress gave them; this barbarous custom became so well established by length of time, that if the practice of it should happen to be neglected or forgotten in a family, even once, discontent and idleness throughout the day, on the part of the maid or maids, would be the sure consequence.”
Prior to the Shoeburn distillery two other producers of illegal whisky were well known and had the support of the local populace, these were located in Coll and Gress. These two illicit stills had the reputation of producing quality whisky and it was a matter of personal preference as to whose was best