Six years ago, Jaynie Kean helped fill the first casks at her family’s farm distillery in South Lanarkshire. She was 22. Now, at 28 and one of Scotland’s youngest female managing directors, she has put the distillery’s name on a bottle for the first time.
That bottle is RAER Single Malt, The Inaugural Release, the first ever single malt from Jackton Distillery just outside Glasgow. It went on pre-sale on 7 August 2026 at £68, limited to 6,000 individually hand-numbered bottles, with shipping from 4 September 2026 and collection available from the distillery.
Here are the specs up front. RAER Single Malt is bottled at 48.7% ABV, natural colour and non-chill filtered. It has been drawn from four cask types: bourbon, Pedro Ximénez, Amontillado and Oloroso. There is no age statement, but with the first casks filled in February 2020, the whisky is around six years old at most, which is young but entirely legitimate for a first Lowland release.
Why a first single malt is a bigger moment than it sounds
For an established distillery, a new bottling is routine. For a new one, the first single malt is the whole point. Everything before it is potential. This is the moment Jackton finds out whether six years of filling, waiting and tasting has produced something people want to drink.
Jaynie Kean framed it as a family milestone rather than a product launch. “We laid down our first casks in February 2020, and since then we’ve watched, waited, tasted, learned and kept moving towards the point where we could finally share a Single Malt with RAER’s name on the bottle,” she said.
The launch also lands on a point worth noting plainly. Whisky leadership has long skewed male, so a distillery run by a 28-year-old woman who came up through the business, from filling casks to managing director, is a genuinely notable arrival. Kean has said her interest in whisky started at 18, working in a bar. That is a short route to running a distillery, and a welcome one.
Who is Jackton Distillery
Jackton is a family-run, female-led, independent Lowland distillery founded by the Kean family on their South Lanarkshire farm just outside Glasgow. It leans on its own estate where it can, with locally grown barley forming part of the production and water drawn from the site itself.
The distillery has also done something no other Scotch producer has: it has become the first to fill casks from the Chambord Estate in France, with those casks now maturing for future releases. That is a detail to file away, because it tells you Jackton intends to keep experimenting rather than settle into a single house style straight away.
Alongside production, the Keans have built out a visitor side of the business, with tours, accommodation and tastings. The approach is deliberately open. During development, Jackton shared early samples with visitors, trade contacts and whisky specialists and gathered their feedback, and the names of those contributors have been printed on the RAER box. It is a nice touch, and a rare one.
What RAER Single Malt tastes like, according to the distillery
We have not tasted RAER Single Malt yet, so the notes below are Jackton’s own. We will update this piece with our own assessment if we get a sample or a pour.
Distillery tasting notes
Nose: fruitcake, fig, sultana
Palate: dark fruits, treacle, roasted nuts
Finish: long and mellow, with toffee, sweet spice and soft oak
ABV: 48.7%
Casks: bourbon, Pedro Ximénez, Amontillado, Oloroso | Price: £68
On paper the cask recipe does the talking. Pedro Ximénez brings the raisin and treacle weight, Oloroso adds nutty dried-fruit depth, Amontillado leans drier and more savoury, and the bourbon underneath keeps some vanilla and lift in the mix. That combination reads as a sherried, dessert-leaning profile rather than anything coastal or peated, which fits a Lowland farm distillery aiming for richness and balance in a first release.
Price and availability
Price: £68 for a 70cl bottle
Outturn: 6,000 individually hand-numbered bottles
Pre-sale: open now
Shipping: from 4 September 2026
Collection: available directly from Jackton Distillery
RAER Single Malt is available to pre-buy at raer.co.uk. International whisky buyers should check shipping options at checkout before committing, as a small independent’s first release does not always ship everywhere from day one.
Is it worth pre-ordering
We cannot give a taste verdict on a whisky we have not tried, and we would rather say that than pretend otherwise. What we can say is who this is for.
At £68 for a hand-numbered, natural-colour, non-chill-filtered first single malt at 48.7%, this is priced sensibly for what it is. If you collect first releases, back new distilleries early, or simply like the idea of owning bottle number something-of-6,000 from a young family distillery, the case makes itself. If you want proven liquid and a track record, there is no harm in waiting for independent tasting notes, including ours, before you buy.
Either way, Jackton is a name worth watching. A first single malt this considered, from a distillery already filling Chambord casks for the future, suggests the interesting part is still ahead.
Frequently asked questions
What is RAER Single Malt? RAER Single Malt Scotch Whisky, The Inaugural Release, is the first ever single malt from Jackton Distillery, a family-run Lowland distillery near Glasgow. It is bottled at 48.7% ABV, natural colour and non-chill filtered, limited to 6,000 hand-numbered bottles, and priced at £68.
What does RAER Single Malt taste like? According to the distillery, the nose is fruitcake, fig and sultana. The palate brings dark fruits, treacle and roasted nuts, and the finish is long and mellow with toffee, sweet spice and soft oak. The Daily Whisky has not yet tasted it independently.
How much does RAER Single Malt cost? RAER Single Malt costs £68 for a 70cl bottle. It is available to pre-buy now at raer.co.uk, with shipping beginning on 4 September 2026. Collection directly from Jackton Distillery is also available.
What casks are used in RAER Single Malt? RAER Single Malt is drawn from four cask types: bourbon, Pedro Ximénez, Amontillado and Oloroso. This combination is designed for a sherried, dried-fruit-led profile with richness and balance rather than peat or coastal character.
Where can I buy RAER Single Malt? RAER Single Malt is available to pre-order directly at raer.co.uk. It can also be collected from Jackton Distillery near Glasgow. International buyers should confirm shipping availability at checkout, as availability outside the UK may be limited at launch.
Who is Jaynie Kean? Jaynie Kean is the Managing Director of Jackton Distillery and, at 28, one of Scotland’s youngest female distillery managing directors. She helped fill the distillery’s first casks in February 2020 and now leads the family-run, female-led, independent Lowland business behind RAER.
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