A New Islands Distillery
The Isle of Harris
The Isle of Harris is actually not an island. It is the southern part of an island called Lewis and Harris. The northern part of Lewis and Harris is logically called the Isle of Lewis. Lewis and Harris is the largest Island of the Outer Hebrides off the West coast of Scotland. The Isle of Harris is split into two parts - North and South Harris - and nestling in between these two parts is a beautiful port called Tarbert. The village has a ferry terminal, local tourist information, some small shops and a general grocery store. It is also home to the new Harris Distillery.
One of the best known products coming from here is Harris Tweed - which depite the name is made mainly on the Isle of Lewis. Confusing, isn't it!
Whisky from the Isle of Harris distillery, is definetely not from the Isle of Lewis. But to keep up the confusion, it is called The Hearach. Which I think is a lovely name. What does it mean? A Hearach is a person from Harris!
A bit of History
Through to the early 1800’s, the residents on Harris were famous for distilling illicit whisky, a practice which initially drew no objection from the Estate owners as it meant that the islanders could always afford their rent. Despite repeated attempts by the excise men, the distillers avoided being caught thanks to the ferrymen, who would hoist a signal on the mast informing them that they had excise men on-board. This afforded the whisky distillers sufficient time to hide all the evidence before the excise men could land and carry out their inspections.
Eventually their luck ran out and the illicit whisky industry was rumbled. This had dire consequences for the whole community when the findings were used as an excuse to evict the entire population! So that the fertile land could be turned into a huge sheep farm. This was one of the many population clearances that took place in Harris during the 1800s. By 1840, whisky production on the Isle of Harris had stopped.
It started again in 2015 when a group of young locals decided to start distilling again.
The Hearach Whisky
In 2015, the distillery started life with just 10 people and an ambition to double in number over the next five years. Today, they employ over 50 permanent staff, a highly significant number in an island of fewer than 2000 inhabitants.
It started like many new distilleries by producing gin alongside the production of whisky. Gin can be bottled and sold in a matter of weeks, bringing badly needed cash into a new business. This helps to support the longer production cycles of whisky that must be matured in oak casks for at least 3 years.
Well the first bottlings of The Hearach went on sale in 2023. And every batch sold out in no time at all. A true accolade to the passion and energy that the young team have put into building this new distillery. The folks at the distillery believe in you tasting their product, not telling you how it will taste. On their website, Shona Macleod, Carragreich, Isle of Harris, reports the following:
I get a gentle peat smoke on the first sip which reminds me of island home fires burning when I was growing up. It comes along with a toasted maltiness. I can also taste homemade apple sauce and smell machair flowers, particularly white clover which springs up on our west coast every summer. Mixed spices appear, and an old-fashioned sweetness from things like candied ginger, vanilla, and honeycomb. Finally, there’s a long, clotted-cream note, mixed with a lasting sense of new leather.
Sounds lovely for a dram as the nights draw in. I managed to get a bottle of the first batch. These notes from Shona ring true. If you can find a bottle - buy it. It sells for around 90€ per bottle. It is 46% ABV but I bet that some cask strength is on its way.