Whisky: Brora 24 Year (1981), Ian Macleod’s Dun Bheagan Cask 1524

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 48.5%

Cask: Fino Sherry Butt

Age: 24 Years (Distilled Dec. 1981, Bottled 2006)

Nose: Woodsy, floral, and herbal; salted melon, subtle lavender, bitter orange, musky and peppery, mineral, honeycomb and beeswax, berry jam.:

Palate: Medium-bodied and mouth-coating, waxy, stewed fruit, spice, musty-woody antiques, berry jam, peppercorns, minerality, slightly medicinal herbs.

Finish: Long and lingering with fruit, spice, and musty antiques.

Score: 8-9

Mental Image: The Apothecary’s Heirlooms

Narrative & Notes: The aroma traipsed lazily through a woodsy forest and lavender fields to reach a candle-making shop. Ingredients were laid out and ready to be used; vegetable fat, beeswax, bitter orange rind, musky florals, rose hips, and rosemary. Blueberry and cassis jam, salted melon, dark brown sugar, and pepper promised snacks were also available. Mouth-coating and waxy with stewed fruits, spice, and wood. Berry jam arrived with cinnamon and peppercorns, while a notable minerality developed in the background. Spiced apple sauce led into woody antiques— an antique spice box? An apothecary chest full of dried herbs, florals, seeds, and grass? Fruit and spice lingered on a long finish with musty antiques.

My first Brora, and it did not disappoint. It had all of the waxy depth that I hoped to find from the long-shuttered, though recently reborn, distillery. I had to use the index to locate its entry in the 2022 Malt Whisky Yearbook— it moved out of the closed distillery section and into the sub-section dedicated to new distilleries. According to the Yearbook, the first casks were filled in 2021. Several friends who visited the distillery in 2022 relayed that they are not yet offering any new-make to taste but have an impressive inventory of other whiskies to try.

My expectations were a touch reserved coming into this whisky; I have not been a fan of fino sherry maturations— the Laphroaig Cairdeas finished in Fino Casks still ranks as one of my least favorites from that annual series. However, any hesitation on my part was unfounded as the cask played a beautifully complementary role to the malt, its influence well-integrated and no party crasher.

Overall, I understand the feral look some whisky drinkers get in their eyes when Brora is mentioned; I get it. I thought this was an incredible introduction to the distillery, and I am very grateful to the friend who broke out their bottle and decided 2022 was the time to open it. They split a portion with me, which I then shared with others.