Tasting whisky on the Isle of Harris

In June, I finally fulfilled a lifelong dream: I went to the Highlands of Scotland. It’s a trip that had been in the works for longer than I care to admit. The biggest hurdle? The weather. Every time I checked my weather app for Inverness, it showed wind, rain or both. No matter the month.

The beautiful Isle of Harris Distillery located right in the village of Tarbert

Little did I know that Highland weather shifts more than anywhere I’ve ever been. Even Calgary (Canada) where I live, is notorious for its unpredictable skies. The old joke goes, if you don’t like the weather in Calgary, wait five minutes! Well, in the Scottish Highlands, that’s not a joke - it’s a fact.

Eventually, I stopped checking the forecast. Scotland was calling, and I didn’t want to wait any longer. So, I booked the trip for June and decided to take the weather as it came.

After arriving in Edinburgh on a direct flight from Calgary, I unpacked my wool sweater and set out to explore. One thing became immediately clear: the best match for Scotland’s cool, mixed weather is a good dram of whisky. It makes sense. Afterall, this is the land where whisky was born!

The Isle of Harris is located in the Outer Hebrides (top left)

My journey took me across northwest Scotland. First to the land of my ancestors, the MacKay clan of County Sutherland, and then west to the Outer Hebrides: the Isles of Lewis and Harris, home to the MacDonalds, another branch of my heritage. A Scottish friend, Miles, had urged me to go, saying these isles are one of the few places where Gaelic is still spoken daily. I’m so glad I listened. The landscape is wild and windswept, with white sand beaches that look almost tropical until the brisk sea air reminds you where you are.

In the village of Tarbert on the Isle of Harris, I booked a whisky tasting at the Isle of Harris Distillery. Of course, Harris is world-famous for its tweed, but the distillery is a newer expression of the island’s craftsmanship.

The distillery was founded by Anderson “Burr” Bakewell, an American entrepreneur with long standing ties to the island. His vision was to create meaningful local employment and help sustain island life. Today, the distillery is supported by a group of seventeen private investors from around the world, along with public funding that ensures at least twenty-five people are employed onsite.

You may already know their gin. It is hard to miss with its beautiful sea glass blue bottle. In my travels around Scotland, I saw many an empty Isle of Harris Gin bottle filled with fairy lights. It seems to be a thing.

Producing eight to nine thousand bottles of gin a week, it’s the distillery’s mainstay while the whisky quietly matures. The gin uses 9 botanicals including sugar kelp harvested by local divers. The sugar kelp helps to create a suble coastal note to the spirit.

Ah yes, the whisky -  the real reason I came. I’d booked The Hearach Experience (Hearach meaning someone born and raised on Harris). Our guide, Marie Morrison, led our small group of four through the tasting with an easy grace. She was one of those storytellers who makes every dram feel like part of a larger mystery.

We began in the Flavour Room with three spirits: a Neutral Grain, a Single Malt, and a First Fill Oloroso Cask Matured whisky. Tasting the neutral spirit first, helped frame the journey. Next, the Single Malt, matured in ex-bourbon and sherry casks (Oloroso and Fino), offered a gentle hint of peat mingling with ginger and vanilla. Last but not least, the First Fill Oloroso Cask brought richer, warmer notes - orange peel, cinnamon, cloves - unfolding to reveal walnut, vanilla and a whisper of licorice.

Two of the whiskies that we sampled during our tasting

Getting a glimpse behind the scenes. Look at that shiny pot still!

We were travelling light, so the bottles would wait until we were home. But I did pick up something equally essential -  an Isle of Harris Distillery toque. Practical, cozy and perfect for fending off that famous island wind. A good investment, if you ask me.

There’s something about whisky that captures the essence of a place - its weather, its people, its patience. On Harris, that connection feels especially strong. Each dram tells the story of an island shaped by wind and sea, and by those who choose to call it home. For me, this was more than a tasting - it was a toast to my heritage and to the enduring spirit of Scotland itself.

Back in Canada wearing my Isle of Harris Distillery hat.