Live Tasting - Brora October 23-25, 2009

[Ganga]

Welcome to the Brora Live Forum Tasting.

The Whiskies

Brora Annual Releases
And any other Broras you may have...

Date and Time

Friday 23rd October 7:00pm GMT - Sunday 25th October

About...
For those of you who do not know what these are about, they run for generally 12+ hours and we all sit down (at various times) to taste a range of whiskies and share our notes and comments on the forum. Have a look in the Live Tasting forum for past events.

They are a great way to meet people on the forum, chat about your experiences and learn something new about the whiskies you have, and we all end up having a good time.

Please feel free to join in and post any comments or tasting notes you have. Tasting notes can be added using the Tasting Note tab on the postings page. (Note, the Age field on the tasting must be a number such as 7,9,10,18)

We look forward to seeing you beginning Friday evening...

[Willie JJ]

Here's one from last night, just to get things going:

Brora 25yo 56.7% 2008 release

Nose: Sweet with hints of peat, but the peating level in this is very low. That doesn't detract from the quality of the dram though. The weight of barley sugar on the nose is intoxicating (no wait, maybe that's the alcohol). There is orange and lemon along with lapsang souchong tea. The way it all hangs together is brilliant.
Palate: Massive barley sugar, seashells and wisps of smoke, crystalised fruits interwoven with subtle spices.
Finish: Long, mouthwatering, heavenly.
Comment: Brilliant Brora as usual, but its getting almost impossible to find let alone afford these days. Sob.

[Spirit of Islay]

Who sneaked this tasting in ?
Bring on the Brora......
Expression - Brora OMC 1982 19yo
Year - Nov 1982
Age - 19yo
ABV - 50%
Cask / Bottle No. - Sherry Cask / 1 of 744 Bottles
Colour - Bright gold
Nose - Marmalade on toast at first , very sweet , quite citric as well , slight wisp of smoke .
Palate - Again Citric , orange marmalade , almost orange essence , slight peatiness .
Finish - long and orangey .
Comments - Bottled Nov 2001 , a nice Brora if slightly unusual imo .

[Spirit of Islay]

another one.....
Expression - McGibbons Provenance 1975 25yo
Year - Autumn 1975
Age - 25yo
ABV - 43%
Colour - Pale Gold
Nose - Cut grass , pepper , very sea shore , also a hint of lemon .
Palate - again Lemony , then a wave of peat , slight iodine .
Finish - long and marmalade but not orange , quite sweet as well .
Comments - Bottled Winter 2001 , shame this was bottled at 43% , i think it may have been a killer at a higher strength .

[Willie JJ]

Douglas Laing Platinum 1972 - 2002 29yo 59.5%
Thanks to Spirit of Islay for the sample.

Nose: Bung cloth and rice pudding, cocoa, citrus but its submerged in the creosote. No shortage of peat here. Earth, hemp and iodine. Simply massive.
Palate: Someone has set a peat fire in my mouth. The peating level here is huge. There is barley there but it is smouldering.
Finish: Glowing embers that linger for ages, before fading to ash. When the fire fades the barley returns.
Comment: One of the heaviest peating levels I can remember in a Brora. A peat-freaks dream.

[Spirit of Islay]

Expression - Brora 1977 24yo RM
Year - 1977
Age - 24yo
ABV - 56.1%
Cask / Bottle No. - / No. 5306
Colour - Orange Marmalade
Nose - Again Oranges on the initial nose , then the Brora iodine , slight butter (Pastry?) ,
Palate - very complex , very peppery , sweet (Marmalade) , iodine , barley sugar , peat . This dram just keeps on giving......
Finish - A long sweet finish , a touch of lemon and honey (Lockets cough sweets)
Comments - bottled October 2001 , An incredible dram , the palate is so complex and lovely !

[Spirit of Islay]

Expression - Brora OMC 1971 29yo
Year - February 1971
Age - 29yo
ABV - 50%
Cask / Bottle No. - / 1 of 285 Bottles
Colour - Golden Syrup
Nose - Delicate at first.....who am i kidding , clears the nasal passageway , pepper , peat , Barley sugar , cut grass but always comes back to a peatiness .
Palate - An incredible peatiness to it , almost goes to Fishermans friend , after a while peppery and a drop of lemon .
Finish - Woah ! a great big dash of peat on the finish
Comments - Bottled March 2000 , another outstanding Brora from the start of the 70's .

[Spirit of Islay]

Last one of the night......
Expression - Brorageddon
Year - March 1972
Age - 30yo
ABV - 50.8%
Cask / Bottle No. - 983 / 1 of 201
Colour - Polished Mahogany
Nose - a deep sherriness infused with peat , cola cube sweets , a deep oakiness as well . A perfect sherry casked whisky , no naughty nastiness lying in wait for the unsuspecting nose.....
Palate - Pretty much the same but the peat seems to cover the palate , the sherry seems to be at the front of the palate vanish over most of it and returns at the rear !
Finish - A very dry sherry finish interlaced with the peat .
Comments - Bottled February 2003 for the Plowed Society , My favourite of the 3 plowed bottlings i've had .

Will have the 3 DLPS i've got tomorrow night during the chat .

[Willie JJ]

Brorageddon OMC 50.8% 30yo 03/1972 - 02/2003, Cask 983, 201 bottles

Nose: More power! What an in your face dram. I love it. Dark bitter stewed oranges, heaps of tannins, prunes, coffee grounds and cocoa. And ocassionally through all this intensity there are some sugary vanilla notes. I've sniffed and gone to heaven.
Palate: More stewed very bitter oranges, but tinged with a little sulphur. Leathery and delicious.
Finish: An explosion of spices that gives waves of sensation that keep on coming for ages. The coffee lingers until the end.
Comment: Forget a double Espresso, this is the way to start the day.

[Willie JJ]

Looking at your note for the Brorageddon Gordon I totally get the Kola Kubes. Just didn't think of it earlier.

[Wave]

Some awesome sounding Brora's from SOI and Willie!
Here's my lone Brora (at least for tonight anyway )

Douglas Laing Platinum 1977 - 2003 26yo 54.9%

Colour: Medium walnut
Nose: Chocolate covered cherries, Christmas cake and light smoke.
Palate: Creamy medium peat, cherries and spicy nutmeg
Finish: Long and lingering, sweet and chewy. Late salt and smoke

More please!


Cheers!

[jhershauer]

Brora 30 2009 (30ml sample)

This one completely surprised me. I have a Brora Signatory sample that I got from Sean (thanks Sean!), and it had a sharp, farmy nose with tons of mint as I recall. I'll try that one again tomorrow. As for this year's special release:

Nose: Sweet fruit and vanilla. Also some fresh wood. Maybe a hint of the farminess from the Signatory, but subtle and in the background. Is that a hint of smoke? It's fresh and edgy for a 30 year.

Palate: A thick mouth feel with fruits remaining and some nice peppery spice.

Finish: A little maltiness showing up now, with more wood, and finally some smoke coming through. Kind of like the subtle smoke that comes with the younger Highland Parks.

Wow, this is drinkable stuff! I was caught completely off guard. At $150, I would be all over a bottle of this. At $360, well, I'd need to be in a better financial situation. I sure am glad I got to try it, though.

Cheers,
Jeff

[pkt77242]

No problem Jeff and speaking of that Brora here I go

Signatory Brora
Brand : Signatory Expression : -
Nose : Menthol, eucalyptus, slight smoke, and salt. Moss. Palate : Burning leaves, brine and barley sugar. Almost a sugar cookie. Finish : Brine and loads of mint. Very sweet mint. Comment : It says refill sherry butt but you can't tell while drinking it. Nice combo of mint and brine. Colour : white wine Score : 0
Age : 21 Years Old Vintage : 1981 ABV : 46% Bottler : Signatory	Type : Single Malt Region : - Water : none Ice : none Glass : - Notes : Refill sherry butt
More tasting notes by None Please do not reproduce or copy this tasting note without permission.

Sean

[Spirit of Islay]

Back Again !

Expression - Brora Douglas Laing Platinum 1972-2002 29yo 51%
Year - 1972
Age - 29yo
ABV - 51%
Cask / Bottle No. - / 138 of 228
Colour - Polished Gold
Nose - For 51% a very strong nose , sea air , salt , peat smoke and iodine . After a while citrus and bitter chocolate emerge .
Palate - Intense peat and iodine ! Barley Sugar , very dry and oily , an incredible mouth feel .
Finish - Long and warming with a barley sugared spiciness .
Comments - Another wonderful early 1970's Brora , A privilege to taste .

[Spirit of Islay]

Expression - Brora Douglas Laing Platinum 1970-2002 32yo 58.4%
Year - 1970
Age - 32yo
ABV - 58.4%
Cask / Bottle No. - / 242 of 297
Colour - Bright Gold / Golden Syrup
Nose - Fairly light and Maritime on the nose at first , then Iodine and pepper .
Palate - Salty and peppery on the palate , quite hot , this one is closer to a "Skye" whisky than an "Islay" one . Again an incredible mouth feel .
Finish - Long and peppery , very peppery !
Comments - Blind , i bet most people would go "Aah.....Talisker!" sorry but it would have to be an incredible Talisker to match up to this !!!! How many times can you say another Incredible 1970's Brora...... ?

[Spirit of Islay]

Expression - Brora Douglas Laing Platinum 1972 - 2002 29yo 59.5%
Year - 1972
Age - 29yo
ABV - 59.5%
Cask / Bottle No. - / 155 of 240
Colour - Bright Gold
Nose - Salty , Maritime , peat , Citrus , peat , iodine , peat , get the idea ?
Palate - Superbly peaty in the Gob !!! Sweet (That Barley sugar again) , tarry ,
Finish - Huge ! goes on for ever , peat , tarry , oh my !
Comments - When this first came out and we tried it on the chat i coined the phrase "Brorzilla! (Tm Spiritofislay.....) , i'll stick by that ! Another Blah Blah Blah........

[Spirit of Islay]

Well that's my lot of opened Broras , i'm going to carry on drinking the last one as it's so good......

[Willie JJ]

Nice notes Gordon. I'm sure I have at least one more but haven't found it yet.

[Willie JJ]

Brora is too drinkable

That's my problem with it. Can't keep any open bottles.

[Ganga]

Brora 23, Douglas Laing Premier Barrel, 46%

Nose: barley sugar, vanilla, cream soda
Palate: A&W Cream Soda, light notes of straw
Palate: long, mixed spices

Yes, really not complex but it is really tasty. Bottle got shared around quite a bit so not very much left.

[Ganga]

Brora 23, 1982-05, OMC, 50%

Nose: whisps of smoke-more of a wood smoke, banana nut bread, slight rootbeer (IWC)
Palate: loads of maltiness, flat rootbeer, ginger, earthy
Finish: moderate, lots of spices floating around

This is a very nice Brora. Shows off a little peatiness.

[Ganga]

Brora 30, 2007 release, 55.7%

Nose: ginger root, dk chocolate, heavy breads
Palate: brownies, tea, oily feel
Finish: long, diesel and spices

Each of these have been interesting as they are so different from each other. My favorite (for today) is this one. But the others could be on any given day.

[jhershauer]

No problem Jeff and speaking of that Brora here I go

Signatory Brora
Brand : Signatory Expression : -
Nose : Menthol, eucalyptus, slight smoke, and salt. Moss. Palate : Burning leaves, brine and barley sugar. Almost a sugar cookie. Finish : Brine and loads of mint. Very sweet mint. Comment : It says refill sherry butt but you can't tell while drinking it. Nice combo of mint and brine. Colour : white wine Score : 0
Age : 21 Years Old Vintage : 1981 ABV : 46% Bottler : Signatory	Type : Single Malt Region : - Water : none Ice : none Glass : - Notes : Refill sherry butt
More tasting notes by None Please do not reproduce or copy this tasting note without permission.

Sean

Ok, I tried this one again tonight:

Nose: Fresh mint leaves and Vicks vapor rub, and maybe some tea leaves as well. Not really getting farmy notes like I thought I remembered.

Palate: Turns sweet, and pretty mellow, really. Still minty.

Finish: Mint, mint, mint. Possibly a little smoke carrying it up through the nostrils.

Not like any other whisky I've tasted, including the 2009 Brora 30 year.

Jeff

[Ardbeg311]

Thanks for the notes. Wish I had a Brora to share here. Spirit of Islay, truly humbling.

[Jimmy321]

Shame this was not on the schedule, i diden't bother checking back to see if there was a tasting that was of interest to me. Oh well...

[Ganga]

Jimmy,

Look under Other Tastings. We'll be doing closed Lowlands shortly.