1977 Brora 21 Year Old Rare Malt Selection 56.9%

Colour: Gold.

Nose: Whiffs of the farm and mineral smoke. With water. Cut plants and toast with lashings of butter.

Mouth (neat): Hay and grass, tobacco, a touch of burnt caramel, and rather a lot of cardamom. With water: Some sweetness (cranberry juice) hay, grasses, and a hint of smokiness. This is a very powerful combination that’s involving cardamom once again, kippers, concentrated lime juice, heavily salted liquorice, more coffee dregs, tobacco, then something very tertiary such as dried tangerine skins (chen-pi) and some kind of curry, rather Indonesian-style. A true powerhouse. It is, in fact, very Brora. The descriptors may well not be very appealing or sexy, because the spirit is relatively austere, but I can confirm that it is grand whisky.

Finish: Long with touches of peat and salty sea air.