Review by: The Muskox
When I tried this a little while ago, it was my my second Brora to date, after having enjoyed a heavily-peated bottling for my birthday a few years earlier. Brora didn’t really reach the mythic dead-distillery status that it enjoys today until decades after it closed. Its character comes from a variety of sources – long fermentation added orchard fruit notes, worm tub condensers gave the spirit a meaty, herbal heft, the use of lightly-peated malt added a touch of smoke, and gunky buildup in the low wines receiver gave Brora and its sister distillery Clynelish their waxy flavour. The final ingredient, of course, is time: Brora may just be one of those whiskies that really comes into its own at very high ages. This 35-year-old Diageo Special Release from 2014 is the very favourite whisky of many extremely well-read whisky nerds, so my expectations are sky-high. Buckle up, because I took a boatload of notes on this one.
On top of it all, I drank this on Burns Night! As Burns himself once quoth:
— “‘It was the best of times, it was… the blurst of times’!? You stupid monkey!”
Distillery: Brora.
Bottler: Official bottling.
Region: Highlands.
ABV: 48.6%. Cask strength.
Age: 35 years. Distilled in 1978. Bottled in 2014.
Cask type: A mix of American and European oak refill casks.
Price: N/A, sample.
Color: Rich gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Rich, savoury, salty, aged, and complex. Various herbs and strong sea salt are the first things that jump out, followed by a variety of soft fruits – peach, pineapple, pear, banana, and a hint of raisins. There’s a wax note in here for sure, more savoury and spicy than Clynelish. Bee pollen? It continues to unfold into bizarre green earthy toasty richness – sesame oil, butter-dipped artichoke, and roasted garlic!! Wet mossy rocks, rain-soaked pine trees, cumin, and a hint of barnyard. Rich malt notes start to emerge, as sourdough and pastries.
It takes quite a while for the smoke to show up, but it does eventually – burning beeswax candles and charred willow boughs. A strong floral habanero spice note emerges as well, along with dark chocolate, worn leather, bruised bananas, and something industrial. The water brought out buttery popcorn, floral tea, and olive oil.
Palate: Medium texture. Very dry and briny up front, with old books and green notes of cucumber and green tea. Creamy sweetness next, with wax, coffee ice cream, honey on toast, peach tea, and mango. There’s more peat here than on the nose, bittersweet and dirty. Strong musty oak, salty mangrove swamp, and something like a wood-fired pizza oven. Vegetal and earthy notes of clay and peas on the back end, then more banana and chocolate.
Water opens this up significantly. There’s more sweetness now – fruit sweetness with apple, green banana, pear, and ginger, and floral sweetness of vanilla and flower petals. There’s a strong maltiness emerging too – olive-oil-basted focaccia with olives and dried herbs. Some buttery white chocolate and allspice.
Finish: Medium and oaky-salty. Green mossy smoke, a little sootier now. Lots of old oak, dried herbs, and black pepper. More aged notes of musty old libraries, wax, olive oil, hay, and a bit of chalk. An undercurrent of sweet honey, apples, and mango.
Water intensifies the smoke, which is really quite industrial now, as well as bringing out a bit more fruit and something custardy.
Possible SMWS bottling name: “Old willow in the sun-kissed glen”
Conclusion: Wow, that’s a lot of notes, even for me. This is a hard one to score. On one hand, I was very disappointed. My expectations were extremely high, and it just wasn’t mind-blowing like I expected to be. On the other hand, it’s still a fantastic old whisky that’s miles better than most of what I drink. The nose is phenomenally good, up there with the best I’ve ever had. Just look at all those notes! Superlatively complex (as you may have noticed), and that roasted garlic/artichoke thing is strange and incredible. The palate and finish, to my taste, can’t quite match that complexity, and are (relatively) more dominated by oak and salt. The long rest and addition of water (zSolaris’s suggestions) were absolutely essential to getting the most out of it.
Do I like it better than other legendary whiskies like Ardbeg Lord of the Isles or Talisker Maritime Edition? Definitely not. Do I like it better than the more comparable 34 year old Caol Ila and 28 year old Pulteney I had a couple months ago, or various old Bowmores? Also probably not. Would I pay $3500 for a bottle? Hell nah. Is it delicious? Yes, absolutely, positively, most certainly.
Final Score: 90.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 