Cuvée presentation
A Brora 30 year old bottled at cask strength in 2009 for the Diageo Special Release collection, an annual range that showcases outstanding whiskies from the group’’s open and closed distilleries. This is the eighth Brora released in the range, with the first in 2002 and the last in 2017. Brora has become a distillery of legend since its closure in 1983. Its inimitable style combines the waxy character of its neighbour and sister Clynelish with peat to create a whisky that is unique in Scotland. There are three distinct periods that can be observed in regards to the style of this whisky, spanning from the end of the 1960s to the beginning of the 1980s. The first period, from the end of the 1960s to 1972, was the most peated period of Brora, to make up for the shortfall in peated whisky caused by the closure of the Islay-based distillery, Caol Ila. This period gave birth to a legendary vintage at Brora: the 1972. For the remainder of the 1970s, the distillery then produced a lightly peated whisky. Finally, from the beginning of the 1980s, the whisky produced was close to being non-peated, and stayed this way until its closure. Since its reopening in 2021, the distillery has balanced these three styles to create a whisky as similar as possible to the original. A limited edition of 2,652 bottles.
The distillery Brora
Scotland, Northern Highlands. Distillery closed. Owner: Diageo
In the midst of the 1980s economic crisis, further accentuated by several decades of overproduction, Brora, like many Scottish distilleries, was forced to close on 17 March 1983. Founded in 1819 by the Marquess of Stafford in the village of Brora (Sutherland), it was originally named Clynelish. Swept up in the euphoria of the period following the end of WWII, the owners decided to increase its production capacity in 1967, building a new cutting edge production unit on the same site, dubbed Clynelish #2. To prevent confusion between the two distilleries, the historic site was renamed Brora in 1969 and its malt adopted a very peaty profile up until the late 1970s. For purists and “taste historians”, the 50s and 60s versions of Clynelish #1 (Clynelish 12 Year old Ainslie & Heilbron Distillers, Spring Cap, Clynelish 24 Year Old Cadenhead, Clynelish 28 Year old 1965 Signatory Vintage) have become so impossible to find that most would never even hope to experience them. The peated versions from the 1970s and more specifically those from 1972 (Brora 22 Year Old Rare Malts Selection 60.02% and Brora Old Map Label Connoisseurs Choice Gordon & MacPhail) are still available and an absolute must-have for any self-respecting enthusiast or collector.
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