Hunter Laing Braeval Tasting Notes

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Braeval 2001 (14 year old) 50%

Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2527/ HL11999

Dist: May 2001 Btl: Oct 2015/ Tasted: Nov 2015

Intense, herbal aromas with treacle, malt, liquorice, raisins, prune and sweet sherry spices.

The palate is all sherry cask. Treacle, malt, prune, raisin, sultana with a touch of dark chocolate and building, dusty spices. Long and quite citric with a mouth-watering finish and lingering spices.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Braeval 1997 (15 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2285/ DL9888

Dist: Sept 1997 Btl: May 2013/ Tasted: Aug 2013

A pleasantly floral nose. Citric and lightly honeyed with white pear, apple, melon and grass. Wonderfully fragrant and grassy with a touch of vanilla oak.

The palate is crisp and Sauvignon Blanc-esque – Grassy, citrusy white peach, pear and melon. Very evocative with hints of barley and apple. Very deep and lightly honeyed with hints of coffee in the finish along with a lingering grassiness.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Braeval 2001 (15 year old) 50%

Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2630/ HL13270

Dist: Dec 2001 Btl: 2017/ Tasted: Mar 2017

Aromas of hard and herbal barley and refill sherry. Hints of tangerine, malt and baked fruit follow and with time a touch of sweet barley emerges.

The palate opens with the hard barley along with milk chocolate, baked fruit and subtle herbal notes from the cask. It continues in a slightly industrial style and finishes with some citrus and intrusive alcohol. This makes it somewhat austere and unforgiving.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Braeval 1997 (18 year old) 50%

Sherry Butt/ Code: OMC2547/ HL12292

Dist: Dec 1997 Btl: Feb 2016/ Tasted: Apr 2016

Subtle, nutty sherry on the nose with hints of white chocolate, slightly hard barley, white fruit, honey and sherry spice.

The palate is rich and full with more spice and nutty sherry showing. Hints of hard barley emerge but some ripe and juicy fruit balances along with a touch of vanilla. Crisp, edgy, slightly hot finish with lingering spice, smoke and dusty barley.

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Braeval 1991 (25 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2603/ HL12815

Dist: Aug 1991 Btl: Oct 2016/ Tasted: Dec 2016

Aromas of warm oat cakes and malt, along with chunky Bourbon oak and hints of treacle, burnt cinnamon, corn and rye-like notes. The oak is pretty dominant, but a touch of gooseberry and greenagage comes through. With time hints of perfumed wild flowers and sweet vanilla.

The palate opens with some soft, coffee’d tannins, dark chocolate and treacly Bourbon oak. Like the nose there is a touch of rye-like herbs, spics e and an astringent citric note. The oak is better behaved and more supportive, (until the finish, that is!) some tangerine and barley comes through on the middle. Good length with oak, cocoa powder, rye-like herbs and light marc notes on the finish.

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Hunter Laing Distillers Art Braeval 2001 (13 year old) 48%

Sherry/ Code: ART0004/ Dist: May 2001 Btl: Feb 2015/ Tasted: Mar 2015

Aromas of dusty oak and sweet barley with a touch of grass and lime. Relatively simple but deep with a late hint of white liquorice.

The palate is crisp and fresh with barley, lime and hints of vanilla. Again straightforward but pleasantly deep with a crisp, mouth-watering finish with lingering barley, apricot and dusty tannins.

Hunter Laing Distillers Art Braeval 2002 (13 year old) 48%

Sherry/ Code: ART0047/ Dist: May 2002 Btl: Feb 2016/ Tasted: Mar 2016

Beautifully honey’d and sub-tropical aromas of lime, lychee, pear and apricot along with some slightly crisp barley. Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever come across such a fruit bomb of a Braeval. With time it becomes quite herbal and shows more barley.

The palate is a little more mineral and citric, thus taking the edge slightly off the fruit but the honey is still quite prominent and the sub-tropical starts to come through. Medium length and gently spiced with lingering minerals and citrus. Apparently this is sherry matured but that must have been a very re-used cask!

Hunter Laing Distillers Art Braeval 2002? (14 year old) 48%

Bourbon/ Code: ART0076/ Dist: 2002? Btl: Aug 2016?/ Tasted: Sept 2016

Aromas of dusty oak and sweet barley with a touch of grass and lime. Relatively simple but deep with a late hint of white liquorice.

The palate is crisp and fresh with barley, lime and hints of vanilla. Again straightforward but pleasantly deep with a crisp, mouth-watering finish with lingering barley, apricot and dusty tannins.

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Hunter Laing Hepburns Choice Braeval 2001 (12 year old) 46%

Bourbon/ Code: HEP0018/ Dist: May 2001 Btl: May 2014/ Tasted: June 2014

Pungent aromas of brittle and dusty barley with quite an alcohol nip. Lightly oiled with white fruit and a touch of celery. Lightly manurey and beeswaxy with [an unclean perfumed note] a touch of caramel.

The palate is soft, oaky and buttery with a touch of white fruit and apricot. Lightly earthy middle with stalky herbs and celery notes in the finish. Medium length with the oak lightly bittering the after-taste.

Douglas McGibbon Braeval Tasting Notes

Douglas McGibbon Provenance Braeval 1999 (11 year old) 46%

Bourbon/ Code: PRV0730/ Dist: Sept 1999 Btl: Sept 2011/ Tasted: Sept 2011

A slightly honeyed nose with plenty of toffee’d/ caramel oak and hints of high toned floral notes and a touch of cereal. The palate is relatively sweet with an abundance of pure, liquid caramel, hints of peppery spices, youthful cereal and a touch of honey. Pleasant if rather non descript.

Douglas McGibbon Provenance Braeval 2001 (12 year old) 46%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Code: PRV1024/ DMG9865

Dist: 2001 Btl: July 2013/ Tasted: Aug 2013

A fresh and slightly grassy nose with citrus, barley, earth and malt, along with a touch of boiled sweets, honey and light vanilla.

The palate is quite earthy and darker than the nose would suggest with baked fruit and malt. Robust and slightly toffee’d with barley and a slightly grassy and honeyed finish.

Douglas Laing Braeval Tasting Notes

Douglas Laing Old Particular Braeval 2001 (14 year) 48.4%

Sherry Butt/ Code: OLD0252/ DL10963

Dist: May 2001 Btl: Dec 2015/ Tasted: Jan 2016

Slightly balsamic and malty aromas with slightly industrial barley and white wine vinegar.

The palate opens with some milky oak, barley and subtle herbal notes. Again quite malty and slightly industrial. Hard but long citrus and white fruit finish.

Douglas Laing Old Particular Braeval 1998 (15 year old) 48.4%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OLP0021/ DL9989

Dist: Sept 1998 Btl: Aug 2013/ Tasted: Sept 2013

A seriously fruity nose – pure raspberry and strawberry with a light golden syrup coating. Plenty of gristy barley and fudgy oak balance as does a light, herbal spirit note.

The palate is sweet-ish and fruity – apricot and strawberry with spice, barley and a touch of vanilla. Very spice middle with hints of milk chocolate. Very long with quite a dry finish but those lovely spices linger along with the herbal barley.

Douglas Laing Old Particular Braeval 2001 (15 year old) 48.4%

Sherry Finished/ Code: OLD0384/ Dist: May 2001 Btl: 2017/ Tasted: May 2017

The aromas are quite sharp and citric with hints of lime, gooseberry and herbal honey. Edgy and grippy with a touch of hard-ish barley and an underlying subtle maltiness.

The palate is malty and deep with more, soft wood spice and a touch of barley. The sharp citrus from the nose comes through on the middle, along with a light herbal note. Long and fresh with the citrus lingering along with a touch of balancing honey.

Douglas Laing Old Particular Braeval 1997 (18 year old) 48.4%

Sherry Butt/ Code: OLD0327/ DL11205

Dist: Dec 1997 Btl: June 2016/ Tasted: July 2016

Oily and heavy with dense barley, unsweetened honey, beeswax and hints of charred oak. With time the subtle, herbal sherry (re-fill like) comes through with a touch of baked fruit.

Full and juicy on the palate with a little more sherry character. Hints of sultana, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg appear with dried apricot and herbal notes on the middle. Relatively straightforward but deep. Medium length with a touch of tart citrus and drying tannins.

Douglas Laing Old Particular Braeval 2001 (18 year old) 48.4%

Sherry Butt/ Code: OLD0803/ DL13507

Dist: May 2001 Btl: Aug 2019/ Tasted: Nov 2019

A dense almost impenetrable, heathery and barley’d nose with malt, toffee, pepper, oxidised fruit, nuts and vanilla.

A touch lighter on the palate but still quite barley’d and malty with sweet honey, white liquorice, toasty oak, waxy apricot and grilled nuts. Not a huge amount of sherry but a long, sweetly spiced finish with lingering waxy fruit and nuts. All told the palate is a lot more expressive.

Douglas Laing Old Particular Braeval 2001 (18 year old) 48.4%

Sherry Butt/ Code: OLD0839/ DL13724

Dist: May 2001 Btl: Nov 2019/ Tasted: Mar 2020

Fresh, juicy and succulent aromas of  barley, honey, toasted nuts, grass, vanilla and hints f nettles, rhubarb leaf, earth, lime, and green apple. There’s not a huge amount of sherry character here but the oak becomes pleasantly buttery with time.

The palate is lighter and more citric with apple, barley and lime. It fills out as the lightly toasted oak and oily/ honeyed fruit come through on the middle. Long and juicy with the citrus and grass returning. Like the nose there isn’t really any sherry character but it does have a lovely progression.

Douglas Laing Old Particular Braeval 1997 (20 year old) 51.5%

Sherry Butt/ Code: OLD0567/ DL12399

Dist: Dec 1997 Btl: Feb 2018/ Tasted: Jun 2018

Mature straw-like barley aromas with manuka honey, baked apple and hints of perfumed white fruit. I’m not picking up much sherry cask influence, which isn’t an issue as it opens to become more honeyed, with malt, nutmeg, ginger and honeysuckle.

The palate is mature and malty with honey, ginger biscuits, nutmeg and coriander powder. The only influence from the sherry butt is a slight woodiness, but again, that’s not an issue as it allows waves of gorgeous honey and malty to show. Long and continuing honeyed with ginger, violets, honeysuckle and apricot.

 

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Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Braeval 1996 (12 year old) 50%

Re-fill Sherry Cask/ Code: DL5029/ Dist: Nov 1996 Btl: Mar 2009/ Tasted: July 2009

Rich and delicately sherried bouquet. A good depth of opulent fruit, earth and hints of wood spices. A lovely robust Spey showing some maturity. Water emphasises the earthiness and the maturity. Still gloriously honeyed though.

Like the nose the palate is soft and delicately sherried. Lighter than the nose suggests. Almost subtle with a good depth of fleshy yellow fruits, honey and a touch of spice. Water softens and emphasises the mouth filling juicy honeyed character. Lovely length. Juicy and leafy with grassy notes appearing.

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Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Braeval 1999 (11 year old) 46%

Sherry/ Code: PBR0091/ Dist Sept 1980 Btl: June 2011/ Tasted: June 2011

An edgy nose of brittle honey and high toned, floral spirit. Quite grassy and citrusy with some tosted caramel vanillins. The palate is a touch oily with burnt caramel and nascent spirit. No real depth or character, just oak and spirit. It must have been matured in a well used butt as the sherry influence is only noticeable on the aftertaste once the bitterness has passed.