Origin: Highlands (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Owner: Diageo
Official website: www.malts.com/en-gb/brora
After Port Ellen, it is time to explore another legendary distillery, which also closed several decades ago and has recently been reborn.
Brora was founded under the name Clynelish in 1819 by the Duke of Sutherland on a farm, with the aim of employing some of the farmers forced to abandon their fields during the Clearances, exploiting local barley and competing with the illegal distilleries that were creating instability in the area.
The whisky produced was fairly successful, although one of the subsequent owners (the Glasgow blenders James Ainslie & Heilbron) was forced to sell in 1912 to avoid bankruptcy, with a series of changes of ownership that eventually brought the business into the hands of the modern Diageo.
Produced mainly to feed the blends, Clynelish proved insufficient to meet demand with its two stills alone, and in 1967 a second, larger and more modern distillery was opened, with the two coexisting for just one year, leading to the closure of the original in 1968.
Given the shortage of peated whisky due to a severe drought on Islay and the temporary closure of Caol Ila for renovation, the old distillery reopened in 1969 under the name Brora, producing whisky with high levels of peat (peaking in 1972). In 1973, production restarted at Caol Ila, and Brora gradually lowered its ppm to the more common 7ppm for the Highlands, but the deep crisis in the industry led Diageo to cut what had become a redundant distillery compared to its island cousins, closing its doors on 17 March 1983.
The 1990s saw a resurgence of interest in single malts, especially those that were impossible to find because they came from closed distilleries or distilleries that only produced for blends. and so, in 1995, Diageo’s first series of Rare Malts included two Broras with the same vintage (1972) but different ages (20 and 22 years), and this was only the beginning of a long series of increasingly rare and sought-after bottlings, released by both the parent company and independent bottlers.
In 2017, Diageo announced the rebirth of Brora, which restarted production in 2021.
Today, I am tasting three independent bottlings from the distillery’s last years of operation to explore this profile that has been lost over time.
Brora 1981 20yo Signatory Vintage
Strength: 43%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added colouring: No
Owner: Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Company
Average price: € 1,300.00
Official website: www.signatoryusa.com
Butt ex sherry #578 filled in March 1981, which independent bottler Signatory emptied twenty years later, in October 2001, obtaining 412 bottles that were not cask strength.
Tasting Notes
The nose is initially earthy and mineral, between undergrowth and wet stone, but quickly opens up to fruit (peach, lychee, muscat grape) and pastries (cream tart, sweet liquorice, marzipan, meringue), with a waxy base that grows in intensity over time. Slightly spicy notes (cinnamon, nutmeg) and a mentholated finish.
On the palate, it flows with good oiliness, very viscous, with black pepper joining the spicy notes in enhancing the vegetal and mineral aspects, which are more evident here, with green tea, tobacco leaves, liquorice root, rhubarb and a hint of saltiness. The sweet soul is submissive, shy, reduced to hints of sugar paste, marzipan and just a touch of honey, while the wax perceived on the nose seems to have disappeared. The mentholated notes return, and in the background there is a whiff of smoke from an extinguished fireplace.
The finish is not very long and is salty, with spices, vegetal and mineral notes, and embers. The wax lingers in the empty glass.
Review: Not the most expressive, it struggles a little to open up and does not have any particular nuances to make it memorable. Sharp and uncompromising, but also easy to drink for this reason.
Vote: 85/100
Brora 1982 14yo Gordon & MacPhail
Strength: 40%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added colouring: No
Owner: Speymalt Whisky Distributors Ltd.
Average price: € 1,200.00
Official website: www.gordonandmacphail.com
For Gordon & MacPhail’s Connoisseur’s Choice series, which combines several casks (in this case refill ex-sherry butts) from 1982, bottled at minimum strength in 1997.
Tasting Notes
Mineral notes on the nose, accompanied by a marked presence of red fruits (currants, raspberries, gooseberries). Sweet liquorice, vegetal notes of foliage and wet earth, and a sulphurous vein that sneaks in among the aromas. Wax is present but takes time to emerge decisively. Time brings hints of pastries such as sponge cake, meringues, marzipan and mints. In the finish, a coastal breeze. Intriguing.
On the palate, it immediately shows its peaty side, with an arboreal structure and oily, mineral smoke, with medicinal traits, which, combined with spicy veins (black pepper, nutmeg), embraces red fruits, liquorice, almond paste and leavened bread. Vegetable notes in the background, accompanied by a subtle hint of saltiness.
The finish is quite long, with burnt meringue, spices, liquorice, malt, vegetal and salty notes, and a hint of ashtray.
Review: Despite the alcohol content, it is easy to drink but satisfying, with vegetal and salty aspects that go well with a more pronounced peatiness, which however loses a little on the somewhat awkward finish.
Vote: 84/100
Reviews of Gordon&MacPhail whisky
Brora 1982 13yo Cadenhead’s
Strength: 60.4%ABV
Ageing cask: N/A
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: J & A Mitchell & Co Ltd.
Average price: € 400.00
Official website: www.cadenhead.scot
The only cask strength bottling of the trio, as well as the youngest, produced by Cadenhead’s in 1995 for the Authentic Collection without declaring the type of single cask used.
Tasting Notes
The nose echoes the theme seen so far, with mineral and earthy notes intertwining with an almost imperceptible hint of burnt shrubs. The fruit is clearly pungent, with currants, gooseberries, unripe kiwis, limes and grapefruit, enhanced by the spiciness of ginger and black pepper, with a pastry base of meringues, sugared almonds, custard and shortcrust pastry. At times, there are notes of yeast. Lively.
On the palate, the citrus aspect is very present, with a sparkling personality enhanced by spices and mineral and vegetal veins. It reflects the nose almost faithfully, with a good oiliness that brings out both the fruity and sweeter sides, with impressions of liquorice, milk chocolate and a still delicate, woody smoke.
The finish is quite long and pungent, with spices, citrus fruits, vegetal and mineral notes, cotton candy, embers, salt, and a distinct waxiness emerging from the empty glass.
Review: As drinkable as the other two but with greater depth, more layered and engaging, a captivating and pleasant swan song.
Vote: 86/100