Brora 37 yo [1977]–Special Release 2015

Yes. After the Port Ellen, comes the Brora 37 year old. relatively cheap compared to the PE at “only” £1,300 , which is still a lot of money. A closed distillery, with a cult following (not as big as PE obviously). I was looking at some 2012 pricing, and I was saying the Brora release is pricy at 400 quid… Boy, were we naïve or what?

Anyways, I have not had a lot of old Broras  (I think I’ve had 4 so far) , So I am no expert on the distillery, but I must say I love the style, so I was really looking forward to this, even more than I was hoping the PE would be great (which it was, remember?). There are only about 2976 bottles availble of this one , bottled at a nice 50.4% abv, distilled in 1977 and aged in Refill American oak.

Brora 37 yo [1977], 50.4% , £1300 brora-37-year-old-1977-special-release-2015-whisky

Nose: A fine mix of the signature wax, lemon zest, green apples, wood smoke and some fine musty peat, and MUSTY it is, what a divine aroma (for the old  peat lovers). There is quite the smell of a wet dog (if there ever was one!), dirty, oily and complex. Further nosing reveals hints of leather, and more sweet notes, mostly cereal.

Palate: Starts quite woody (nice touch! especially if you admire older wood, as much as I do) with wood spice , cocoa, dark chocolate and honeycomb sweetness, with a touch of that waxy feeling, some cured ham, and pepper. A nice interplay of sweet, smoky, minerality and wood.

Finish: Nice and medium long with the cured bacon, chocolate and spice, and the oak going a long way.

Bottom line:

This is a damn fine whisky. Excellent stuff, with a lovely mouthfeel and palate (does not feel as high as 50%). It’s hard to compare to the PE , but It might be a wee bit better in my opinion, if so Marginally. Keep it going, Hope they have enough to last a few more years, with the same quality. I should have bought some Broras a few years ago, shouldn’t I? At any rate, Noone is likely to pop open a bottle anytime soon, if you do – let me know Winking smile

Score: 94/100

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