HISTORIC HARRIS WHISKY

The Hearach whiskies are the first, historic single malts from the Isle of Harris, as we revive the distilling traditions lost during the Pabbay clearances of the 1840s.

Our drams are the result of a considered conversation between people and place, coming together to create elegant spirits of complexity and character. 

The work of our island's men and women intertwines with the natural world to weave together these Outer Hebridean whiskies of distinction. 

Every drop of these new drams are being distilled by local people to produce special spirits which have been matured, married, and bottled here in this elemental place, and nowhere else.

We believe our water sourced from Abhainn Cnoc a’ Charrain is the softest of any Scottish distillery. Only very low sodium and chlorine minerals are measured, likely derived from the sea spray that blows over our village isthmus.

The rivers and streams of north Harris flow over Lewisian gneiss, some of the oldest rocks on earth, dated by radiometric techniques at between 2.4 billion and 2.6 billion years old. Its hardness helps ensure the extremely low minerality of our source water.

After longer fermentations and hands-on distillation in our bespoke copper stills, our oak casks, chosen when visiting Kentucky and Spain, are brought to bear. The chaos in the casks then ensues by the shores of the Atlantic, near the west-coast village of Ardhasaig.

Despite our northerly latitude, our island’s oceanic climate benefits from the currents of the Gulf Stream. This system keeps seasonal temperatures remain remarkably stable, which we believe benefits our maturation process.

The final, hard to define, element of our whisky-making is our natural way of working which brings patience to what we do, from fermentation to marrying. Ours are slow whiskies and we look forward to sharing them at a different pace.

The close-knit Harris community is deeply rooted within the landscape. 

A culture of Gaelic language, storytelling, and song has long bound generations of Hearaich not only to each other but also to their home villages, family crofts, mountain, moors, and machair. 

This special connection between people and place continues to this day and so we’re proud to put our island’s name on each new bottle, with every drop of The Hearach whiskies made with island hands.

No matter where you are in the world, we invite you to connect with this elemental island and its inhabitants through our whiskies, quiet contemplation, and a slower sense of ceremony. 

Just as in life, the true nature of The Hearach and our Outer Hebridean home will reveal itself over time, allowing you to, from time to time, be here.

We have one of the youngest teams of distillers in Scotland with an average age of 25 years with the youngest Rebekah Morrison from the village of Bowglass being 21 years old.

Their whisky-making is done with little automation, and we prefer to rely on the 'human touch' throughout the process.

Our local distillers use their judgement and experience to decide the cut-points by nose and sight, they manually adjust the steam valves, and process decisions are made as a team at every step on a daily basis.

The difference this makes to the final dram may be hard to define but we feel the use of island hands will bring something extra to the spirit we finally bottle.

The emphasis on people throughout the production process also serves to create employment that would otherwise be lost in a more 'push-button' operation.