Brora 40 Year Old 200th Anniversary Edition (49.2% ABV) has been produced using whisky which was drawn from a dozen American oak hogshead casks, distilled in 1978.
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| Brora 40 Year Old 200th Anniversary Edition |
This latest limited-edition bottling, which was selected by Diageo’s Master Blender, Dr Craig Watson, has been released to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Highlands based distillery, ahead of its planned reopening in 2020, following its closure in 1983.
In October 2017, Diageo announced a £35 million investment programme to restore and recommission its Brora distillery in Sutherland and its Port Ellen distillery on Islay.
For this latest release, Dr Craig Watson worked alongside the Diageo archive team that had unearthed original Brora production records as part of their ongoing work to assist in the distillery restoration.
Commenting on the news, Dr Craig Watson, Diageo’s Master Blender, said: “Of all the stories of Brora, there is one that seemed particularly fitting to tell on its 200th Anniversary. From 1969-83, there was a new experimentation phase in production and the Brora distillers created a smoky malt used heavily-peated Northern Highland barley. Used primarily in blends at the time, the few casks that are left from this Age of Peat, matured remarkably well and what remains is a multi-layered and complex single malt of astonishing quality. Little did the craftsmen at the time know, they had created a masterpiece. It is emblematic of the varied past of the distillery that makes it so special to all that know it: a humble story of experimentation, craft and happy coincidence.”
Limited to 1,819 bottles, Brora 40 Year Old 200th Anniversary Edition, will be available later this month from specialist retailers for a RRP of £4,500.
Posted by Steve Rush