Good good good. Today we take another small step towards the realization of our main goal in life: tasting all the official editions of Brora of the series that started in 2002. Unfortunately, for now we have only reviewed five and in fact the first releases have now reached crazy prices, well above a thousand euros; in whisky festivals Brora are now an absolute rarity too, but we do not despair. Such incurable romantics we are. Meanwhile, thanks to the Diageo tasting from Milano Whisky Festival 2014 held by the magnificent Franco Gasparri, we managed to grab this 2013 version. Yes!
N: among the various official Broras tasted (not enough, mind you) this seems particularly broresque: there are all the typical notes of wax crayon, wet rock, emmenthal, madly intense; the
peat is very evident, at times very smoky and fills the nose. Then there are the fascinating ‘church’ notes, of damp cellars, and a fantastic immersion in the coastal and marine area; from the “sweetness” pov, on the other hand, ex-bourbon notes seem to prevail in the mix: sugared almonds, icing sugar, almond paste; even a kind of creamy vanilla. And then again, cigar tobacco, orange, mandarin and black pepper…
P: absent alcohol. The impression we had on the nose of an ‘inorganic’ and austere Brora is entirely confirmed: it is in fact very marine and generous, with a thick, ashy and mineral peat; we then find again powerful notes of wax, with even wet hay, without however veering into the ‘stable’ (or ‘farmy notes’). Orange liqueur. And then, salt and pepper. Then again, orange and apricot jam. Sugar syrup. The sweetness is very compact and explosive, although almost subordinate to a simply extraordinary austere side.
F: infinite wax, ash, still sea air and parched seaweed. Pure pleasure.
Our impression is that this 2013 version is the sharpest of those we’ve tasted, for its austerity and super-maritimeness. You can’t definie it as a round whisky, not at all, but at the same time this dram shown an elegance that even Jocelyn Angloma couldn’t have, when he used to ride throught the left wing of 2000’s Inter Milan… The jubilation among the bloggers we follow is unanimous, and we join the party: 94/100.
Recommended soundtrack: Lady Gaga – Bad Romance (Bossanova cover)
