This quick review of is of a rare, 30 year old cask strength dram from the Brora, which has been closed since the 80s. Of course, being closed, that means people will pay through-the-nose for something that probably wouldn’t be worth half that if it was still opened and distilling whisky today. People are paying for the rarity, rather than the flavours. That said, others reviewers have raved about this – me, I fall under the category: meh.
Colour: Pale gold, barley. On the nose: a lovely briney sweetness. It’s bottled at cask strength, 53.2%, so I didn’t leave my nose in too long, but while I was there it had a very nice balance, a real rounded, herbal, spiced scent.
In the mouth: all sorts of things going on. A wave of strong malt, touch of smoke, deceptively light on the mouth. Thin, elegant, coastal tang, distant sweetness, almost out of touch at first. A very spicy finish, a lingering buttery note. Yet… it never quite rocked my world.
You don’t want to know how much a bottle of this costs (okay, around £250). Thank goodness it was only a sample form the Masters of Malt store. While still pleasant, certainly not remarkable.
One for the Brora fans and collectors, probably…
