Whisky Watch December 12th: The Hearach Single Casks, Chattanooga Vault Series

We’ve got just two releases this week as things quiet down before the holidays. From Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, Isle of Harris Distillery has two single cask offerings, both limited-release retailer exclusives. In American whiskey, Chattanooga Whiskey has unveiled its third annual Vault Series , featuring three creatively finished bourbons—in terms of the finishing choices and the length of time (4 to 5 years) spent in that secondary maturation. And we would have liked to report on the new 21 year old Toasted Single Barrel bourbon from Barrell Craft Spirits, announced this past Tuesday, but that one sold out almost immediately. Who says there's no buyer enthusiasm out there in the whisky world? Witness too the crowds that gathered at Stranahan's distillery in Denver last weekend for the annual release of its Snowflake limited edition single malt, which, as always, drew a large crowd.

The Hearach Cask No. 1281 Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 56%
SRP: $110
Availability: K&L Wines exclusive

The Hearach Cask No. 2004 Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 59.4%
SRP: $100
Availability: Binny’s exclusive

Scotch distillery Isle of Harris has released two single cask bottlings as U.S. retailer exclusives. Cask No. 1281 was bottled for Redwood City, California-based K&L Wines, while Cask No. 2004 was bottled for Binny’s Beverage Depot in Chicago.

The K&L release was aged 7 years in first-fill Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels. The Binny’s expression is a 6 year old, aged in first-fill bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill. The K&L whisky can be purchased here, and the Binny’s release is available here.

Isle of Harris Distillery was founded in 2015 on the remote Outer Hebrides island of the same name, which is actually called Lewis and Harris, as its territory is one island divided into those two parts. The distillery was founded by American-born Anderson “Burr” Bakewell, who had long been passionate about the area. Witnessing its population decline, Bakewell sought to do something to stem the tide, and the idea for Isle of Harris Distillery was born.

While the distillery waited for its whisky to mature, it released Isle of Harris gin, made with sugar kelp seaweed, which created a distinctly maritime profile and won critical acclaim. Its first whisky, The Hearach, was released in 2023, with the name taken from the Gaelic term for a native of the island. A second expression, The Hearach Oloroso Cask Matured, came in 2024. This year saw the very limited release of The Hearach Chateau Biac, matured in wine casks from Bordeaux winemaker Chateau Biac, and Croft Strength was a duty-free exclusive released earlier this year.

In February, amid the general decline in whisky sales, Isle of Harris announced a 25% cutback in production. In April, the distillery announced job cuts of about 25% and a corresponding reduction in output, moving from two production shifts to one. But Isle of Harris remains very much open and active, and is still enthusiastically welcoming visitors to this remote and very scenic part of the world.

Chattanooga 2025 Vault Series Bourbons

ABV: Varies
SRP: $47/375 ml
Availability: Limited

For its third annual release of the Vault Series, Chattanooga Whiskey is revisiting three barrel finishes from its Experimental Single Batch Series: apricot brandy, extra añejo tequila, and sauternes.

While those original bourbons were finished anywhere from 3 to 19 months, Chattanooga greatly extended the finishing time for the latest Vault Series releases, putting the single barrel whiskeys in their secondary barrels for 4 to 5 years. In another dramatic departure from the blueprint, these barrels were filled not with experimental mashbills—which the distillery has turned to for the past two Vault Series releases—but with Chattanooga’s signature Barrel 91 high-malt bourbon mashbill, which includes yellow corn, malted rye, caramel malted barley, and honey malted barley.

The apricot brandy-finished bourbon is 7 years old, 5 of those years it spent in apricot brandy barrels from Turkey. The extra añejo-finished bourbon is also 7 years old, and similarly spent 5 years in tequila barrels. The sauternes-finished bourbon, meanwhile, is a 7 year old that saw 4 years of secondary maturation in the French dessert wine casks. The proofs of these single barrels range from 123.2 (61.6% ABV) to 132.0 (66% ABV).

There are fewer than 800 bottles of the 2025 Vault Series available, all of which will be for sale at the Chattanooga Whiskey Experimental Distillery in Chattanooga, Tennessee.