Multi-million whisky distillery planned

A tiny Hebridean island off the coast of Skye is set to become the location of Scotland’s newest distillery.

Alasdair Day, managing director

The multi-million-pound Raasay Distillery and visitor experience centre will be independently owned & operated by R&B Distillers is set to open in January 2017, if planning permission is granted later this year.

It would become the island’s first legal distillery and is expected to generate employment for eleven of the island’s 120 residents.

Alasdair Day, managing director, said: “It’s incredible to think that there are still areas of Scotland completely ‘forgotten’ by whisky. The Isle of Raasay is one of those unique locations and the perfect home for R&B Distillers to handcraft whiskies of uncommon provenance.

“We’re now working hard to engineer a whisky destination unlike any other. From the magnificent views over to Skye, to experiencing craft distilling first hand, we can’t wait for visitors to discover our whiskies, the island and the community here on Raasay.”

With the aim of producing “handcrafted whiskies of uncommon provenance”, R&B Distillers hope to release the first batch of Raasay whisky by 2020 and produce up to 150,000 bottles of whisky a year thereafter.

The development will include a state-of-the-art visitor experience centre and luxury accommodation, through the restoration of the island’s currently derelict Victorian hotel, Borodale House.

A private tasting room and public café bar are also planned which will offer “uninterrupted views” of the Cuillin mountain range.

R&B Distillers was founded in 2014 by Scottish entrepreneur Bill Dobbie and business partner Alasdair Day – who currently produces Tweeddale whisky.