Whisky: Royal Brackla 11 Year (2006), Exclusive Malts

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 58.2%

Cask: Virgin French Oak

Age: 11 Year (Distilled 7 Nov. 2006, 

Nose: Fruit, sharpies, and spice. Cedarwood flooring and peppercorns contrasted with rich plum sauce, tangy black vinegar, and caramelized tomato paste. Hints of melon rind, mint, strawberries, and banana ice cream flitted between intriguing hints of sharpie markers and green olives.

Palate: Medium-bodied and viscous with notes of preserved fruit, pickling spice, and oak. Sweet and tangy like sweet soy sauce and Vietnamese fish sauce with an herbal side of coriander, peppercorns, mint, and Thai sweet basil. Dried strawberries, mango, and guava candies lingered in the background. A few drops of water brought out herbaceous tobacco on the finish while highlighting soy sauce, fish sauce, and cream soda.

Finish: Lingering notes of herbal candies and cream soda.

Score: 7

Mental Image: Soda Jerk Attempts Pho-Cola

Notes: It took me a few attempts to jot down any sort of coherent notes for this bottle; I could not decide what I was tasting. I do not have a lot of experience with Royal Brackla, but the few I have tried have all been rather weird like this and brought to mind memories of Vietnamese cuisine. These are not deep memories, Vietnamese cuisine is well represented in the area around us and has long been a part of my life, from late-night noodle runs to nervous first dates. The last Royal Brackla I tried had a similar sweet vinegar note to it with pickled mango and sour fruit. I entitled that SMWS bottle “Spring Roll Dipping Sauce,” and while it did not win any awards from our local whisky group, it proved memorable.

This bottle was a few steps above that prior experience. I thought the cask did wonderful work highlighting the herbal notes with an undercurrent of black pepper and spice. It gave this a viscous and palate coating body lacking in my previous experience. While this was just as weird as that prior SMWS bottle, it was more coherent and left me wondering how Pho Soda might taste. The wife and I had a pho-spiced beer, and it was quite lovely if it was any indication.

Overall, a bit strange but hard not to like. This struck me as the kind of bottle that gets under your skin so that you suddenly find yourself craving it (and I can verify that I found myself craving this later on). I jumped at the chance to try this based on the sum of my great experiences with the Creative Whisky Company/Exclusive Malts. RIP, that was one bottler gone too soon.

Image Credit: Whisky Online Auctions