Whisky Connosr
Menu
Buy Whisky Online

Brora 1981 Signatory - 18 Years Old

Almost Schizphrenic

0 393

@MaltActivistReview by @MaltActivist

17th Apr 2014

0

Brora 1981 Signatory - 18 Years Old
  • Nose
    24
  • Taste
    23
  • Finish
    23
  • Balance
    23
  • Overall
    93

Show rating data charts

Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

This is the first ever Brora I have ever tasted, although, I have a couple of original bottles stashed in my bar for a momentous occasion. I have always been fascinated with this distillery given it's consistently well-reviewed bottles; original or independent.

Now I'm a bit wary of independents given the uncertainty of flavor one may find in various bottlings. However, I seem to have struck gold with this little sample.

Picked up as a 5cl mini from an auction site this 1981 Signatory bottling of this 18 year old spirit (matured in a sherry butt #1081) is an absolute class act. I have never experienced a nose change so dramatically as this (especially after being left to breathe for over an hour).

Nose: Immediately good quality sherry. Not so much from the color, mind you, but the first nose is unmistakable sherry. Extremely fresh and extremely sweet. Like a hard-boiled butterscotch sweet smothered in grass. The sweet perfumed citrus is next covered in a dollop of honey and delicately smoked piece of vanilla wood. Quite glorious.

Leaving it breathe for an hour turned the nose on it's head. It took on a peculiar supermarket aisle quality - fresh grains in a jute bag surrounded by detergent and cleaning liquids. I'm not sure where that came from but it was a huge surprise to see the nose change so much. It wasn't bad, mind you. I was just taken aback, that's all. This is probably one of the most complex and multi-layered noses I have ever come across.

Palate: There's brittle honey and dark sugar with just the right amount of smoke. The butterscotch re-enters the fray only this time with a sprig of mint and a squeeze of citrus in it's corner. The extended oxidization gave the spirit a lovely lemon sponge cake quality. Quite homely.

Finish: The long dry finish is quite woody with vanilla drops on cinnamon.

I had built up the Brora in my head and this independent offering managed to, not only prevent me from disappointment, but further fueled my curiosity about this great lost distillery.

Related Brora reviews

3 comments

@Victor
Victor commented

We take our rare whiskies where we can find them, do we not, @tabarakRazvi? Nice review. Would you give the nose of every 18 yo whisky an hour of observation?...or is that more because this is a rare Brora, and you don't want to miss anything? There is so very much to observe in this whisky business!

10 years ago 0

@MaltActivist
MaltActivist commented

@Victor I wish I had the patience to let every 18 year old breathe for an hour but sadly I don't. This one was accorded special treatment given it's pedigree - and the fact that it was my first time tasting a Brora.

And I'm glad I did what I did because I have never seen a spirit morph so dramatically. Very interesting to say the least.

10 years ago 0

@Pierre_W
Pierre_W commented

Hi tabarakRazvi, I greatly enjoyed this review. I have tried a few samples of the annual releases and the detergent/cleaning liquid element is something that I found in virtually all of them. There is a soapy touch to Brora that makes it quite special. Good to see that the nose delivered despite being watered down to 43% ABV.

10 years ago 0