Edition Spirits Royal Lochnagar Tasting Notes

Edition Spirits ‘The First Editions’ Royal Lochnagar 2000 (19 year old) 55.5%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: EDI0534/ HL16350

Dist: Apr 2000 Btl: 2019/ Tasted: Dec 2019

Intense if a little tight aromas of gristy barley.  raw and visceral but not harsh or spirity. Pure, natural honey with hints of rose petal and toffee.

The palate is earthy and gristy with sweeter barley, honey, apricot, apple, rose prtals, toffee and subtle red fruit notes. Lovely intensity and softness with a little peppery bite. Long, harmonious finish with lingering barley and rose petal.

Water opens the nose up to show granulated sugar coated white fruit – apple, lychee and pear. The honey is also more apparent as well. The palate is softer and fuller. More honeyed with a lovely purity of barley and white fruit. Hints of cinnamon, pepper and vanilla on the middle and a long, juicy, barley’d finish.

Brave New Spirits Royal Brackla Tasting Notes

The Rebels ‘Guerilla Casks’ Royal Brackla 2012 (9 year old) 55.9%

First Fill Banyuls Cask 493/ Dist: Feb 2012 Btl: Mar 2021/ Tasted: Jun 2022

The nose is rich, full and honeyed with malt and barley notes. Subtle herbal, winey red fruit appears along with syrup. Earth, edgy dried fruit and some bitter spices.

The palate opens with more of the cask influence – winey red fruit, spice and pepper. Hints of honey and malt follow but the red fruit is holding. Spicy and coffee’d middle with the syrup notes joining he alcohol in the finish.

Diluted the nose shows more spirit character, malt, herbal honey, citrus and minerals. The winey red fruit are still there but pushed into the background. The palate is very much like the nose – more spirit character, less wine. Lovely softness and a long peppery finish.

North Star Spirits Royal Brackla Tasting Notes

North Star Spirits Royal Brackla 2006 (11 year old) 55.2%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Dist: Oct 2006 Btl: Feb 2018/ Tasted: Mar 2017

The nose displays plenty of tight and spicy oak, softened by hints of herbal infused honey and malt. A touch of digestive biscuits hints at youth but there’s also a touch of straw. With time the oak becomes pleasantly buttery.

The palate open, like the nose with the tight oak but again the malt, honey and milky vanilla soften. A touch of toffee and some gentle sweet spices come through on the middle, but it still feels pretty tight! Lovely lightly oiled and orangy finish but the alcohol masks a little.

Diluted the nose really opens up well, to show granulated sugar coated orange and lime, along with a touch of wild sage and heather. On the palate it emphasises the creamy oak and barley. Not as tight now and fresher but still dense and honeyed. Deliciously juicy, citrus middle and finish.

Mossburn Distillers Royal Brackla Tasting Notes

Mossburn Distillers No9 Royal Brackla 2008 (10 year old) 46%

Bourbon Hogshead/ Batch 11.0408.9

Dist: 2008 Btl: Aug 2018/ Tasted: Feb 2019

The nose is quite floral and citric with juniper-like botanical notes. Slightly soapy and confected white fruit follows with a touch of barley, greengage and lime.

The palate opens with creamy, toffee’d oak which suppresses the floral and citrus notes. Lightly oiled on the middle with a touch of industrial barley, greengage and lime. Quite astringent and hot finish with an odd floral bitterness.

Mackillop’s Choice Royal Brackla Tasting Notes

Mackillop’s Choice Royal Brackla 1993 (19 year old) 50.1%

Bourbon Cask 6799/ Dist: Sept 1993 Btl: July 2013/ Tasted: Aug 2013

An aromatic nose of summer flowers and honeyed barley with a good degree of mature oak, which doesn’t overpower. Superb depth with hints of orange blossom honey, minerals and light spice.

The palate opens with some slightly dusty/ earthy spice and gentle barley followed by honeydew melon and herbal honey. The granity notes build pleasantly on the middle and oh, my word, what a gorgeously honeyed finish! Stunning stuff! The liquid honey is entwined with the herbal, mineral and lightly bitter oak notes and lingers wonderfully.

Water emphasises the mature, sawdusty oak but at the same time the nose feels fresher with the barley becoming quite dominant as the honeyed notes have backed off a little. The palate is soft and gentle, maybe lacking the intensity when neat, but it’s still pleasantly gentle.

Lady of the Glen Royal Brackla Tasting Notes

Lady of the Glen Rare Cask Royal Brackla 2008 (12 year old) 57%

Refill Barrel, First Fill Oloroso Sherry finish

Cask 6832./ Dist: Dec 2008 Btl: July 2022/ Tasted: Aug 2022

Chunky aromas of burnt wood and raisinated fruit. Quite herbal with a touch of peppery spice. Sherry monster alert!

The palate also displays chunky sherried dried fruit, wood spice and raisin. Hints of dusty tannin and wood char on the middle, but no spsirit character. Masked, dry finish.

Water possibly brings out some honey and barley, but it’s still very heavy on the sherry. The sherry is definitely lighter on the palate, and it allows some honey and barley to show. Slightly spicy with the dried fruit and tannins in the background. Tight, almost virgin oak tannins in the aftertaste.

Dewar Rattray Royal Brackla Tasting Notes

Dewar Rattray ‘Cask Collection’ Royal Brackla 2010 (8 year old) 58.1%

Bourbon Cask 333964 – 2 years finishing in ex-Hidalgo La Guitana Sherry Hogshead

Dist: Apr 2010 Btl: Nov 2018/ Tasted: Feb 2019

The nose is very heavily sherry influenced with raw, herbal dried fruit and hints of coffee. It settles down to show a touch of treacle, tobacco leaf, marmite, earth and subtle barley.

The palate opens with barley, vanilla and heavy malty notes. The herbal sherried dried fruit moves in on the middle and I have to say it has a good Oloroso purity. Edgy but not blemished. Vibrant but not over alcoholic. Long and spicy with mouth-coating coffee and dried fruit finish.

With water both the nose and palate become simpler and less interesting, so I would drink it neat.

Gleann Mor Royal Brackla Tasting Notes

Gleann Mor ‘A Rare Find’ Royal Brackla 2006 (10 year old) 59.8%

Refill Sherry?/ Dist: Nov 2006 Btl: Jun 2017/ Tasted: Nov 2017

Pungent aromas of toffee and honey with hints of barley, vanilla and what feels like subtle herbal Oloroso dried fruit and spice notes. It develops some lovely baked fruit notes and feels a little older than 10 years.

The palate opens with a lovely barley’d intensity, followed by hints of dried fruit and bitter spice. A touch of honey balances the bitterness and hints of vanilla and pepper appear on the middle. A little masked on the finish but the spices linger.

A drop of water emphasises the vanilla and brings out the natural oiliness of the spirit. On the palate it emphasises the honey and vanilla and brings out soft apricot and tangerine notes. Subtler on the spice but the finish is pleasantly honeyed now.

Hunter Laing Royal Brackla Tasting Notes

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Royal Brackla 1998 (18 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Barrel/ Code: OMC2642/ HL13429

Dist: May 1998 Btl: Feb 2017/ Tasted: Mar 2017

A softly spiced and deliciously honeyed nose with white fruit and barley. The sweetness is well balanced by a fresh citric note appearing . With time hints of straw and coffee’d oak.

The palate is considerably maltier and darker with a distinct baked fruit character. However the citrus note found on the nose, is here on the palate and along with a subtle minerality adds vibrancy. Hints of vanilla and barley. Long with the oak and barley becoming quite fragrant and lightening the finish.

Hunter Laing Hepburns Choice Royal Brackla 2009 (8 year old) 46%

Refill Bourbon Barrel/ Code: HEP0314

Dist: Mar 2009 Btl: 2018/ Tasted: Apr 2018

The nose is quite perfumed with white liquorice, honeysuckle and gristy barley. Hints of apple, pear and lime appear along with a touch of oak. Pleasantly intense.

The palate opens with the creamy oak. Not quite a fresh and mineral as the nose but it has a good body and fleshy apricot and apple character, along with a touch of honey and white liquorice. Good crisp, mineral finish with lingering citrus.

Royal Brackla Distillery Bottlings Tasting Notes

Royal Brackla 16 year old 40%

First Fill Oloroso Sherry Finish

Tasted: Nov 2015

Quite mature and oily aromas with a little fragrant oak and barley. A good dollop of stewed fruit follows along with hints of lime, apple and vanilla.

The palate is oily and barley’d with drying tannins, coffee and stewed fruit. Mature and lightly earthy with some balancing, creamy, slightly sawdusty American oak. Good length with the light honey balancing the drier oak notes. In conclusion: Gentle and mature. The perfect dram, to unwind to after a hard day at the office!

Royal Brackla 21 year old 40%

Tasted: Jan 2017

Intense and coffee’d with balsamic, earthy sherry, prunes, raisins and hints of Bovril on the nose. A lovely thread of tart citrus opens the nose to show vanilla, walnut and dark chocolate.

The palate is full and coffee’d with grainy sherry wood, treacle, malt, raisin, sultana and prune. Bitters slightly on the middle as the dark chocolate and cocoa powder notes emerge. Long, mouth-watering and citric with a touch of ginger amongst the ark chocolate. Wonderfully sweet and spicy.