Review by: The Muskox

So, it’s my birthday today. In celebration of that, smoked_herring and I went big at the bar last night and each got a dram of this. This is my first experience with Brora, and naturally I’ve picked up some high expectations given the reputation of the distillery. Let’s see if it measures up!

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Distillery: Brora.

Bottler: Douglas Laing.

Region: Highlands.

ABV: 50%.

Age: 18 years. Distilled in 1981. Bottled in 1999.

Cask type: “Oak cask”, yielding 291 bottles.

Price: N/A. $28 CAD for a dram at the bar.

Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Nothing shy about this nose. A huge blast of smoke, with sulfurous, rubbery, and carbolic qualities. Sort of Mezcal-like. Charred and caramelized barbeque pork. Marshmallow dropped into a fire. Spicy floral habanero peppers, mango, and lime combine into something that you’d want to slather onto chicken wings. Earthy spice and tobacco, getting towards celery salt, or maybe cocktail sauce? Just a trace of sweet cinnamon bun.

A couple drops of water bring out fresh apple, pear, and pomegranate, as well as sweet maple.

Palate: Medium-heavy body and quite mouthwatering. Opens with fresh fruit and malt sweetness, which lingers for a second before savoury woodsmoke comes to the front. More barbequed pork. Interesting coastal notes come next: heavy minerals, seaweed, sea salt, mud, and iodine. Some sweet, floral black tea, and pineapple. Oak and clove toward the back.

The water intensified the wood and coastal elements, bringing fresh lemon and oysters.

As the whisky rested, the sweetness at the front got longer and deepened into a fantastically pure caramelized barley sugar note.

Finish: Long and spicy-tart. Seawater, minerals, and bonfire embers. Almonds, cinnamon, and plenty of nutmeg. Macerated apple and lime. More of that floral habanero spice. Maybe some roses in there, too.

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Conclusion: To nobody’s surprise, it’s delicious. The woodsmoke, fresh fruit, savoury spice, coastal influence, floral hot peppers… and that caramelized meat… oh man. What pushed it into the 90+ range for me was that amazing barley sugar at the front of the palate. I’m looking forward to spending more money on drams of this.

Final Score: 91.

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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.