Brora 40 yo 1978 / 2018 200th Anniversary 49.2%

Brora 40 yo 1978 / 2018 200th Anniversary 49.2%

A masterclass in subtlety. Not far from those glorious Special Releases. These miracles somehow retain a deep phenolic depth though clearly not starting as a boisterous 1972, one and instead a prismatic depth of gurgling muds and wet earth, distant farmyards, ancient logs half sunk in boggy mires, moss on wet bark indeed there’s a palpable sense of dank moisture and cold grime. Unused hurricane lamps, soot crusted and oily with fuel, blackened rags of stale oil, gritty sand and crushed granite crunching underfoot, lumps of resin on old cedar desks. Medicinal herbs in rattan baskets drying overhead, gentian and camphor based tinctures, preserved nutmeg flesh, salted licorice and ammonium chloride tablets, preserved citron and oily engine smoke. The thing about such a kaleidoscopic whisky is you really need to pay attention to all its twists and turns. 93 pts