SMWS ADVENTURES
Cycle of life
Torabhaig, Raasay and Harris are examples of a new wave of distilleries that are embedded in their islands and are bringing new life – and new opportunities – to their local communities. Tom Bruce-Gardyne took a two-wheeled trip from Skye to Stornoway to visit the distilleries, face the wrath of Storm Kathleen and earn himself a few drams along the way
PHOTOS: PETER SANDGROUND
With a twinkle in his eye, the late Sir Iain Noble loved to imply he was making moonshine at his Gaelic Whiskies company by the Sound of Sleat on the southern tip of Skye. “I can neither confirm nor deny that my whiskies are made on the island,” he would tell people of Tè Bheag, (‘a wee dram’) and Poit Dhubh (literally a ‘black pot’ – meaning an illicit still).
Sir Iain died in 2010 with unfulfilled dreams of distilling whisky in a derelict steading overlooking the sea. Seven years later, after a stunning restoration job, the building became the Torabhaig distillery. His name lives on as the wash still that stands toe to toe with the spirit still named after his wife. I was here with Richard, Unfiltered’s editor, and my friend Aidan, on a two-wheeled Hebridean adventure from Skye to Stornoway taking in the distilleries of Torabhaig, Raasay and the Isle of Harris.
EARNING YOUR DRAMS
Cycling and whisky may seem an unlikely marriage, and my younger self would have scoffed at the idea. Two wheels were for getting around town, while bagging distilleries was best done by car, or so I thought. That all changed on a whisky tour from Campbeltown to Fort William via Islay, Jura and Mull with Aidan and some other friends six years ago. As an urban cyclist who had never done it for pleasure, I was completely hooked, and it led to us setting up Saddle Grape & Grain to take similar groups all over the Highlands and Islands and across Ireland.
Exposed to the elements, you feel part of the landscape on a bike, soaking up the views, smells and endless fresh air. Climbing hills can be tough, but there’s always the reward of freewheeling the other side, sometimes for miles. And every evening there’s that joyous sense of release – to swap tired limbs for a delicious pint, a bowl of langoustines and a well-earned dram.
ABOVE: Tom Bruce-Gardyne pausing to appreciate some drams at Torabhaig distillery on Skye
“Every evening there’s that joyous sense of release – to swap tired limbs for a delicious pint, a bowl of langoustines and a well-earned dram”
ABOVE: the intrepid trio – from left, Tom Bruce-Gardyne, Aidan Prior and Richard Goslan – hit the road out of Torabhaig distillery on Skye
A COMMUNITY ENDEAVOUR AT TORABHAIG
So, it felt good being back in the saddle on Skye, though none of us was desperate to leave the warmth of Torabhaig, where our guide Anne was explaining how it was a real community endeavour. We met Neil, one of the nine distillers, who’d been the local bin man for years, and Davy, who had been a roofer on the island. As Neil Mathieson, MD of the parent company Mossburn Distillers, told me later, the team was recruited by placing an ad in “the local rag”. “People drove down, knocked on the door, and said ‘when can we start?’” he said.
ABOVE: Toravaig House Hotel, part of The Sonas Collection, Scotland, is right next to Torabhaig distillery. To book call +44 (0) 1470 373737, reservations@sonascollection.com
ABOVE: Anne O’Lone, visitor centre manager at Torabhaig
“We set an interview date, they all came along and we employed them all. They had no idea how to make whisky,”
he says, laughing at the memory. But they’ve all learnt on the job, especially during the one month a year when they make their Journeyman’s Dram, using their own recipe and choosing everything from the strain of yeast to the type of cask. How many distillers have that kind of freedom, you wonder?
ABOVE: the recently constructed warehouse at Torabhaig is filling up and ensuring that the whisky matures right here in Skye
HEBRIDEAN HOOLIE
It was time to give in to the wild embrace of Kathleen, who was blowing a hoolie outside. The Met Office had been warning about the imminent arrival of this new storm from Ireland, and she didn’t disappoint. That evening, Richard and I met her face-on as we inched our way back from the Eilean Iarmain pub on foot for three miles back to our hotel. Crawling into bed at Toravaig House, just across from the distillery, I slept like the dead.
ABOVE: time to fuel up at the Toravaig House hotel
ABOVE: everything in moderation – a wee tipple on arrival
After a big, hearty breakfast, we set off to cycle a 19-mile loop to the other side of the Sleat Peninsula, past old Viking settlements like Tarskavaig and Tokavaig. We had the single-track to ourselves as we climbed and dipped in the dappled sunlight, trying our best to avoid the wrath of Kathleen.
Yet back on the road to Broadford she became the friendliest of storms, propelling us along such that our feet barely touched the pedals.
ABOVE: the single-track loop around the Sleat peninsula provides glorious swooping cycling and mostly only sheep and cows for company
ABOVE: a freshly filled cask at Raasay
REJUVENATION ON RAASAY
Things were calmer the next day and thankfully the ferry to Raasay was back on. Here, on this slender island within an island, you feel a little deeper into the Hebrides as you gaze back at the Cuillin mountains, perfectly framed by sea and sky.
Forty miles long and three miles wide, Raasay is the size of Manhattan, albeit less crowded.
ABOVE: Tom in the stillroom at Raasay
ABOVE: a taste of Isle of Raasay Cask Strength Release
The 2011 census put the population at just 161, but numbers are rising according to Alasdair Day, who co-founded the distillery in 2017. Today, he reckons it’s closer to 200, of whom 40 are employed making and bottling the whisky, as tour guides, and running the cosy, six-bedroom hotel next door. “We’ve had a couple of marriages and I think the average age of employees is about 30,” says Alasdair. The distillery is clearly doing its bit for the island’s birthrate – such is the power of whisky.
ABOVE: A quick break at Rigg viewpoint on the road north of Skye
ABOVE: Isle of Raasay distillery’s Italian Frilli stills, with the Cuillin mountains of Skye in the background
SOCIAL DISTILLING ON HARRIS
I’m sure many plan a distillery day trip and end up staying the night. Raasay is very hard to leave, but we had to press on to the north of Skye where we were catching the boat to Tarbert on Harris in the morning. Forty miles cycling does wonders for your appetite and the Uig Hotel did us proud.
Isle of Harris bills itself as a social distillery. Everything possible is done on site to boost employment, and just like at Torabhaig and Raasay, the whisky feels part of something much bigger than the drink itself. It has given locals a reason to stay or return, like Jillian who gave us a terrific tour and tasting of The Hearach. Her boss Marie put it plainly: “The distillery was a godsend to Harris.”
The long-threatened rain finally arrived, and Marie kindly gave us a lift over the hill beyond Tarbert, while our bikes went by van with her friend, the local fishmonger. We cycled on through Lewis, the sun broke through and we arrived in good time at Stornoway to box up our bikes for the flight home. That night I dreamt of Kathleen.
Are you ready for a cycling tour of Scotland’s distilleries in 2025? Find out more about Saddle Grape & Grain at https://www.saddlegrapeandgrain.com/ and register your interest with Tom Bruce-Gardyne at tombg22@gmail.com for a future SMWS-backed cycle and whisky adventure!
