Our founding story
It started with a view
“The best view of Skye is the one from Raasay.”
Bill Dobbie and Iain Hector Ross became friends at Hyndland Secondary School in Glasgow in the 1970s. Iain's wife Marion's family are MacSweens from Raasay and Rona, and every summer on the island ended the same way: a sundowner on a rickety picnic bench outside the old Raasay Hotel, looking across the water to Skye. When the hotel closed in 2012, the island lost its pub.
Bill had spent his career founding and backing technology businesses, where markets can change overnight. By 2013 he wanted to build something different: a tangible, long-term business making a quality product that would outlast trends. On their annual ski trip that year, with Bill's malt whisky collection for inspiration, Iain had the answer: "Whisky? It was there long before us, it will be there long after us."
Meanwhile, in the Scottish Borders, Alasdair Day had whisky in the family. His great-grandfather, Richard Day, joined a Coldstream wine and spirits merchant as an office boy in 1895, learned the art of blending and went on to run the business, blending The Tweeddale Whisky by the River Tweed until the 1940s. He wrote every recipe down in his cellar book. Alasdair inherited that book, recreated the original blend and put The Tweeddale back on sale in 2010. Now he was setting out to build a distillery of his own in the Borders, and his proposal reached Bill.
Iain had the place in mind: why not an island distillery, on Raasay? Island water filtered through some of Scotland's most varied geology, a story stretching from Bonnie Prince Charlie to the poet Sorley MacLean, and a view no other distillery could match. Bill and Alasdair agreed: Raasay would be the place to begin.
In February 2014, Bill stood in a Hebridean hailstorm in front of the newly bought hotel and made a promise: within ten years, this would be the home of Isle of Raasay single malt. R&B Distillers was founded that year, and in September 2017 the first spirit ran through the stills at Raasay's first legal distillery.
Today, Isle of Raasay Distillery is one of the few Scottish-owned distilleries left in Scotland. Its aim is simple: to make the best Hebridean single malt it possibly can, and to create long-term jobs on the island for generations to come.
From idea to island
- 2013
On a ski trip, Bill and his school friend Iain Hector Ross settle on whisky as the business to build.
- 2014
Bill and Alasdair Day choose Raasay, the closed hotel is bought and R&B Distillers is founded.
- 2017
Isle of Raasay Distillery opens and the first spirit runs through the stills.
- Today
Isle of Raasay and Feragaia make up Scotland's New Wave Spirits.
Our vision
To become Scotland's leading New Wave spirits and drinks business.
Our mission
To make the creation and enjoyment of spirits adaptable, accessible, enjoyable and fun for all.
Our values
What drives us forward
We're nothing without our customers and communities, so we always aim to go further than they expect. These five values guide everything we do.
Don't follow the herd
We never do something just because it's always been done that way. We challenge, question and keep moving, and we're happy to stand out.
Anything is possible
As outsiders in an industry built on convention, we bring self-belief, curiosity and ambition, and a more energetic, playful approach.
Tackle it together
We bring different perspectives together and stay approachable and inclusive, building strong, sustainable foundations for future generations.
Pursue, persist, progress
Original thinking and sheer determination move us forward. We adapt, improve and take ownership along the way.
Enjoy the journey
We make time to explore what we love, live in the moment and share our experiences openly with the people around us.