Inside Jackton Distillery: Exclusive First Taste of their RAER Single Malt Whisky

There are whisky moments… and then there are whisky moments. The kind that make the hairs on your arms stand up, the kind you know you’ll talk about for years. Being invited to Jackton Distillery to help choose their inaugural RAER Single Malt Scotch Whisky was one of those moments! A raer moment that’s been six years in the making!

Most of the public won’t get near this whisky until Autumn 2026, but for one afternoon, I found myself standing in the heart of the Lowlands, participating in whisky history being poured straight from our wee sample bottles into branded Glencairn glasses that glistened in the sunlight.

A Distillery on the Rise: Growth, Sustainability and Family Vision

Jackton Distillery, founded by the Kean family in 2020 on their former farm in Jackton, East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, has always been about heart, heritage and hard graft. Female‑led, fiercely independent and rooted in a grain‑to‑glass philosophy, the distillery has already made waves with its award‑winning RAER blended Scotch. But this, their first single malt, is the dream they’ve been quietly nurturing since day one.

This release represents the realisation of a dream that began almost a decade ago. When the team laid down their first cask in 2020, they committed to pouring their heart and soul into every drop, and sharing their single malt for the first time with the people who supported them from the beginning feels profoundly moving. Every part of their process connects back to the land, from barley harvest to final dram, with draff feeding their own cattle, water being reused, and heat from distillation warming the facilities, creating a circular, authentic approach to whisky‑making. They take their time because the whisky deserves it; every extra month in the cask deepens its character and helps each sip tell the story of a small distillery with a big heart and a family unwilling to rush a good thing. This upcoming single malt marks the next chapter in a journey that began with uncertainty and risk, but always with one unwavering goal: to create their own single malt and show the world what RAER truly stands for. Their patience is finally beginning to pay off, and the moment they’ve been working toward is now within reach.

The VIP Tasting: Three Casks, One Future Release

At the private tasting, we were presented with three sample bottles, each one a shade darker than the last, each drawn from a sherry cask, and each offered its own distinct personality. We talked through colour, aroma and palate, speculated about cask types, and noted the ABV for each dram as we went. There was a real thrill in knowing that one of these three mysterious samples would become the very first RAER Single Malt. And now, all we can do is wait to discover which one makes the final cut.

Behind the Scenes: Touring Jackton’s Grain‑to‑Glass Journey

After the tasting, we moved on to a full tour of the distillery with Jethro Rolland. I’ve been here before, not long after they first opened, so it was genuinely exciting to see how much the place has evolved. The team has expanded and refined almost every corner of the site, from the bar and shop to the warehouse, grain store, distillery floor, lab, and even new on‑site accommodation. Walking through it all, you can feel how far they’ve come in just a few short years, and how much intention sits behind every upgrade.

You can book a 90 minute Jackton Distillery Tour and Tasting for £35.70 which includes an indepth look at every step of whisky production and finishes with a 4 dram tasting, HERE

Stay the Night: Jackton’s New Luxury Cottages

As an extra raer treat, we got to stay the night at the distillery! Which for me, the driver, is most definitely raer!

Jackton’s new cottages take the whole experience up a notch, offering a stay that feels equal parts luxury hideaway and cosy Lowland retreat. They are perfectly located, just across the way from the Bar, Shop and Distillery and offer a wee taste of luxury whilst participating in whisky culture. The self catering cottages are finished to a high spec, super comfortable beds and a shower that I give a 10/10 to. And as a sherry cask finish lover, staying in the Manzanilla Cottage was just the cherry on the cake!

They’re open year‑round and bookable through the Jackton website, with ten one‑bed cottages and two larger two‑bed options. Prices shift with the seasons, but at the moment the one‑beds sit at £168 per night and the two‑beds at £224. A dram, a distillery, and a night in your own cottage… it doesn’t get much more RAER than that.

Congratulations to Raer Whisky for reaching this point, I cannot wait to try your Single Malt later on this year!

Slainte.

Raer Whisky, Jackton Distillery, Hayhill Road, Jackton, G74 5AN www.raer.co.uk