Batches : Torabhaig releases

Distilleries often release whisky in batches, the same name but subtly different recipes, ABVs, maturation periods etc. In this new, occasional series, I'm going to review a number of different Batches in my Side-by-side format to see if I can detect any differences, does each batch get better or are they to all intents and purposes the same?

This time I'll be reviewing the first two releases from Torabhaig's Legacy Series.

Torabhaig (Tor means ‘hill’, abhaig means ‘bay’, so this is the hill overlooking the bay.) is only the second legal distillery on Skye after it's larger neighbour Talisker. Build by the Mossburn family an independent blender and bottler. They also own the Reivers Grain distillery in Tweedbank which should start distilling soon.

As they build towards a core range 10yo they are releasing three or four whiskies as their Legacy Series - here I'm looking at the first two - the 2017 The Inaugural Release and the Allt Gleann.

Torabhaig started distilling in 2017, they use peated barley in a 1.5 tonne Mash Tun, fermented in eight 8,000 litre Douglas Fir washbacks and distilled in a 8,000 litre wash still and 5,000 spirit still from Forsyths.

Let see what their whisky is like:

Dram	The Inaugural Release (February 2021)	Allt Gleann (July 2021)
Characteristics (Shared)	ABV: 46% Natural colour, non-chill filtered
Characteristics (Different)	Concerto malted barley Pinnacle MG+ yeast In-grain phenols content of 55-68ppm giving 16ppm in bottle 100 first fill bourbon barrels	Concerto and Laureate malted barley Pinnacle MG+ and Safspirit M-1 yeasts  In-grain phenols content of 77+ppm.giving 17ppm in bottle 30 first fill bourbon barrels and re-fill whisky barrels.
Distillery tasting notes	Smoke & Brine - a robustly peated spirit with deceptively refined character, resulting in a complex and characterful maritime whisky.	Smoke & Brine - a robustly peated spirit with deceptively refined character, resulting in a complex and characterful maritime whisky.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Very pale gold in the glass, almost clear. Swirls cling as a thin line, take a while to bead up and fall as sow thin legs.	Very pale gold in the glass, almost clear. Swirls cling as a thin line, take a while to bead up and fall as sow thin legs.
Nose	Huge maritime peat smoke - blind you'd think this was a Caol Ila. Smoky bacon crisps, maritime breeze, some tropical fruit, damp hay and a little citrus. A little time and air offers some sweetness - honey and icing sugar.	Quite a difference on the nose, the maritime, fruit and hay notes are here but the smoke is completely different - more savoury,  minerally - BBQ peppered steak? A little time and air offers more BBQ meats and a little hint of mint.
Palate	Sweet, spicy arrival - honey, pear, icing sugar and a bite of peppery spice. There's some floral and metallic notes here - hinting at the youthful spirit. Tropical fruit notes and dry, woody smoke cover the tongue. The salinity from the nose appears too along with some sour citrus as the liquid disappears.	Again a different beast - the sweetness is still here put the spice has really been turned down. Tropical fruit and dry icing sugar notes to start with - pineapple, mango and kiwi; then the smoke takes over - savoury and minerally like the nose. The salinity is here but the citrus is again turned down a notch.
Finish	Short smoke and tropical fruit notes.	Short smoke and tropical fruit notes.
Overall	There are lots of differences between these releases and to be honest they probably aren't batches in the true meaning of the word! For me the Inaugural is very young, the spirit has been tamed by the first fill bourbon casks adding a spice note to the new make. But it is very young and the new make notes are there on the palate. The Allt Gleann is a little older, reducing the new make notes and the use of re-fill casks reduces the spice. It's much more rounder and drinkable. Torabhaig are aiming for a 10yo as their core release and I'm sure by the time they get there this will be a good malt. At the moment it's just a little rough around the edges - a little like Kilkerran's Peat in Progress but without the ABV. Allt Gleann is a better dram than the Inaugural but could have benefitted from the inclusion of a few STR Wine casks maybe to give it some complexity?