Die Destillerie Brora veröffentlicht anlässlich ihres 200. Geburtstages eine Sonderabfüllung eines 40 Jahre alten Single Malts aus der im Wiederaufbau befindlichen Highland-Destillerie, 1819 Flaschen davon wird es geben, abgefüllt mit Fassstärke von 49,2% alk./vol, zu einem Verkaufspreis von 4500 Pfund.
Alle weiteren Details zum Brora 40yo wie zum Beispiel die offiziellen Tasting Notes finden sich in der englischsprachigen Pressemitteilung:
BRORA 40-YEAR-OLD: 200TH ANNIVERSARY LIMITED EDITION
A RARE SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY RELEASE FROM VINTAGE STOCKS OF A DISTILLING ICON, SOON TO RETURN
From August, the revered ghost distillery Brora will reveal one of its oldest ever releases,a year ahead of its re-opening. Brora 40-Year-Old is a limited-edition Single Malt bottled to commemorate two centuries in the lifetime of a distilling icon. Drawn from one dozen casks of vintage stocks from 1978, each of the 1,819 bottles, reflecting the year the distillery opened, offers a rare glimpse into a golden era of Brora’s past.
Nestled on the windswept Sutherland coast in North East Scotland, Brora was founded in 1819. Generations later in 1983, its stills fell silent and the historic distillery was closed, suspended in time. In the years since, the whisky resting within its final casks, developed an extraordinary rich complexity through further ageing, and scarce releases found the highest acclaim.
From 2020, Brora’s gates will open after some 36 years of quiet, following meticulous, brick-by-brick restoration currently underway to bring the legendary whisky house back to life. To welcome this new era and celebrate the past craftsmen that made Brora over its 200-year history, comes this new release 40-year-old expression. Diageo Master Blender Dr Craig Wilson has selected just twelve American oak hogshead casks from Brora’s vintage stocks to celebrate a moment of the distillery’s history: The Age of Peat. Dr Craig Wilson explains:“Of all the stories of Brora, there is one that seemed particularly fitting to tell on its 200th Anniversary. From 1969-83, there was a new experimentation phase in production and the Brora distillers created a smoky malt used heavily-peated Northern Highland barley. Used primarily in blends at the time, the few casks that are left from this Age of Peat, matured remarkably well and what remains is a multi-layered and complex Single Malt of astonishing quality. Little did the craftsmen at the time know, they had created a masterpiece. It is emblematic of the varied past of the distillery that makes it so special to all that know it: a humble story of experimentation, craft and happy coincidence.”
In searching for the casks for this release, Dr Wilson worked alongside the Diageo Archive Team that had unearthed original Brora production records as part of their ongoing work to assist in the distillery restoration. This allowed the master blender to identify the years at which this now revered smoky style of Brora was at its peak, and following careful nosing of the individual casks, Dr Wilson made his selection: a 1978 40-year-old Single Malt of immense complexity that perfectly reflected this moment of Brora’s past. Encased in a deep burgundy velvet display case, the bottle is adorned with the Brora emblem of the Scottish Wild Cat – crest of the distillery’s founder, the Duke of Sutherland. This is the first commercial release from Brora since the 2017 Special Releases and will be available starting this month at the suggested retail price of £4,500.
Brora 40-Year-Old: 200th Anniversary Limited Edition will be available globally through selected luxury retailers.
Suggested retail price: £4,500
Bottle size: 70cl
ABV: Cask Strength 49.2%
Tasting Notes:
A fine, elegant old coastal malt with rich fruit sweetness and compelling
smokiness, held in perfect balance and a vigour remarkable for its age
Appearance: Clear amber. Fine long beading. Good viscosity
Nose: Cautious, with slight pickle at first, then sweet, smoky-peat wafts of
treacle toffee, smoke with iodine. Rich, sweet fruit. Ripe figs. Raisins. Fire
and brimstone. With water, hessian sacking, fine tweed, notes of the
warehouse; all lightly harmonious, with elements of land, sea and sky.
Body: Medium, smooth.
Palate: An exquisitely smooth, lightly waxy texture and a powerful, rich,
darkly sweet, savoury then finally smoky taste, with great balance, length
and persistence. Richly winey and fruity throughout, with dried figs and
dates. Spiciness and growing smoky warmth; white pepper. Best straight
but also deliciously drinkable with a dash of water, which adds to the
sweetness and brings up a minty note; suggesting mint imperials, whilst
dialling back the darker character. All this is still underpinned by a
smokiness that is also held more in check but still very much present.
Finish: Long, rich and sweetly warming, with more white pepper,
subsiding to leave a lightly smoky aftertaste. With water, much sweeter and
more mint-cool, and at the very end lightly drying
