Torabhaig, the Isle of Skye single malt distillery, has launched The Distillers’ Series, a new collection that hands its distillers full creative control over production. The series debuts across 10 markets this September 2026 with an RRP of £75 ($100/€87), opening with two expressions from distillers Iona Macphie and Niall Culbertson.
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READ THE STORYThe distillery describes the initiative as an “industry-first,” with each release giving its distillers the freedom to choose the malt, yeast, fermentation and maturation. For one month every year, the distillery is handed over to two of its nine distillers to create their own whisky.
The releases venture beyond the brand’s core “Smoke with Taste” philosophy, though the distillery notes they remain “born from the same stills, shaped by the same island and made by the same people.”
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Each expression is the work of a single distiller. The series will continue with two launches a year.
The first expression comes from Iona Macphie, who joined Torabhaig at 21 and distilled her whisky at 23, making her the youngest distiller to complete the process.
Macphie built her whisky around chocolate malt, a speciality grain she first encountered at Crisp maltings in Portgordon. She tasted the chocolate character coming off the still after 15 minutes and adjusted her timings to capture the richest flavors.
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“I adore chocolate so I always knew I wanted to incorporate that in some way,” she said. “The chocolate malt turned the wash black as stout but the final spirit is really rounded and rich.”
The second expression, from distiller Niall Culbertson, was created to reflect his childhood coming to the bay by boat. His aim was a bright, coastal whisky with maritime character.
Using a small portion of brown malt and dark crystal malt, Culbertson chose to part-mature his spirit in ex-rum casks.
“I knew what sort of spirit I wanted but this whisky is even better than I hoped,” he said. “It has all the tropical fruit and maritime notes I was aiming for and brings it together in a way I didn’t think I would quite be able to capture.”
Neil MacLeod Mathieson, Torabhaig whisky maker, said: “Torabhaig has always believed that whisky is about stories, especially the stories of the people making it.”
He added: “The stills are the same, the island is the same, but the story changes with every maker. That is exactly the point.”
Both expressions are bottled without chill filtration and with no added color. Macphie’s whisky is bottled at 60.9% ABV, while Culbertson’s is at 59.3% ABV. Each is limited to 5,250 bottles globally.
Torabhaig began distilling in 2017 as the first new distillery on Skye in 190 years. It is one of only two single malt distilleries on the island and forms part of the Mossburn whisky portfolio.
