On the southern tip of the Isle of Skye, where the mainland lies just across a narrow strait, the weather can turn in minutes. One moment, the Sound of Sleat is a sheet of silver under a pale sun; the next, wind drives rain sideways into the distillery’s courtyard, rattling the pagoda roof.
When I visited Torabhaig Distillery last year with my parents, it was doing exactly that — the kind of sudden shift that makes you grateful for the warmth of a hot tea in the on‑site café after a tour. As Bruce Perry, Torabhaig’s global brand manager, will tell you, the distillery has a family feel, and that day we felt it: a small team, looking after guests as if they were neighbors.
The distillery’s latest release, Sound of Sleat, takes its name from that stretch of water and the peninsula it borders. It is the fourth chapter in Torabhaig’s Legacy Series, a sequence of limited editions designed to chart the young distillery’s evolution toward a 10‑year‑old flagship. Each chapter is finite, drawn from specific distillation years and cask profiles, and once it is gone, it is gone.
“Our journey to a 10‑year‑old expression continues,” said Perry during a tasting in New York City. “For Sound of Sleat, we returned to a classic ex‑bourbon cask profile, enhanced by a crisp spice edge from new American oak barrels — without losing the elegance and intricacy our fans have come to expect.”
Fully matured in American oak — a mix of first‑fill ex‑bourbon and new oak casks — Sound of Sleat carries Torabhaig’s signature “smoke with taste” style: maritime salinity, citrus brightness, and a bonfire smokiness that is more spring shoreline than winter hearth. At 46% ABV, non‑chill filtered, and naturally colored, it is a whisky that wears its structure lightly but with intent. Perry noted a “newfound waxiness” emerging as the spirit aged, a textural shift that hints at where the house style may be headed.
A Young Distillery with Deep Roots
Torabhaig began distilling in 2017, transforming a 19th‑century farmstead into a working distillery. It is one of only two single malt producers on Skye, and the only one built in living memory. The team of nine local distillers — none with prior whisky‑making experience — had been trained from scratch under veteran distiller Kenny Gray, who was once the master distiller at Oban. That decision, Perry explained, was deliberate: to create a workforce steeped in the rhythms and realities of Skye life, not imported from elsewhere.
The community connection extends beyond the stillhouse. For Sound of Sleat’s label, Torabhaig commissioned Skye‑based artist Ellis O’Connor, whose work captures the energy and movement of the island’s landscapes. Her painting for the release mirrors the whisky’s own interplay of light and shadow, calm and storm.
From Chapter to Chapter
The Legacy Series began with the 2017 inaugural release, followed by Allt Gleann, Allt Gleann Batch Strength, and Cnoc Na Mòine. Each explored different balances of peat, cask influence, and maturation time. Sound of Sleat, drawn from 2018 distillations, marks a return to ex‑bourbon dominance, with the virgin oak adding spice and structure. It is also the largest release to date — 45,000 bottles globally — signalling both confidence in the style and growing demand.
For collectors, the Legacy Series offers a tangible record of a distillery finding its voice. For drinkers, Sound of Sleat is a snapshot of Torabhaig in mid‑journey: still youthful, but with a growing depth that suggests the 10‑year‑old will be worth the wait.
Scotch in a Growing Global Market
Torabhaig’s emergence comes at a time when Scotch whisky is enjoying sustained global growth. The category is projected to be worth roughly $8–10 billion USD in 2025, with a steady 5% annual growth rate through 2033, driven by rising demand in Asia and a global appetite for premium spirits, according to Data Insights Market. While giants like Diageo and Pernod Ricard dominate volumes, smaller distilleries like Torabhaig are carving out space by leaning into provenance, limited releases, and distinctive house styles. On Skye, that means standing alongside — but apart from — Talisker, whose peat is famously peppery and briny, with a rugged maritime punch, while Torabhaig describes its own as “well‑tempered” — robust yet integrated with citrus, honey, and a bonfire‑by‑the‑shore softness.
A Finish Like the Place Itself
On the palate, the whisky moves from citrus and oak spice to maritime salt and sweet smoke, before settling into a lingering finish Perry likened to “a sunset over the Sound of Sleat.” It is a whisky shaped by a place where the weather, the water, and the work of human hands are in constant conversation.
How to Find It
Sound of Sleat is available in select specialist retailers in the UK, Europe, and North America, as well as through certain online whisky shops that ship internationally. The suggested retail price is $100 USD, and with only 45,000 bottles produced, availability is expected to taper quickly as collectors and fans of the Legacy Series add it to their shelves. For those new to Torabhaig, it is an accessible entry point into the distillery’s style — and a chance to taste a chapter in progress.