14/12/2025 Brackla

Royal Brackla 30yo 1984/2015 (54.1%, Cadenhead Single Cask, Bourbon Hogshead, 192b, 15/120): nose: a little indistinct, initially, with tired wood and stale biscuits. A few minutes' breathing do not seem to wake this up -- there is nothing wrong with it; it simply does not say much. Another minute and, suddenly, that changes: as if it was hurt by my observation, it slaps me in the face with a huge clementine segment. And it withdraws again, as if nothing had happened. Perhaps there are dried orange peels, but it is really, really a plain nose, today, apart from that periodic (because it is periodic) fleeting outburst of fresh citrus. The second nose has more wood, and it is more-clearly defined too. Oiled birch shelves, ginger powder, then, an enormous spoonful of honey. Even further, we have stem ginger, Hobnobs and ginger snaps kept in the pocket of an oilskin. It has something waxy to it alright, almost rubbery. From there, it seems to finally awaken: candied apples, baked grapes and candles dunked in thick custard make an entrance. Mouth: blend-like and bland for a couple of seconds, it start playing the trumpet quickly. Notes of clementine, mandarine and tangerine jostle with ground pepper. Chewing adds recently-oiled oaken planks, and stokes the citrus fire. It has a pinch of asafoetida as well as a crushed bay leaf. Tangerines have the upper hand, however. Come to think of it, with their pronounced acidity, they are probably tangelos, after all. The second sip is more yellow. Not only do we have pouring custard, we also find physalis, Mirabelle plums and nectarines. One chew releases bitterness, likely that of unripe fruits (pineapple, carambola, canary melon). The texture is velvety, akin to a nice vanilla-flavoured oat milk -- one that would be complemented with fruits and pepper. Finish: magnificent! Wood oil, rubbed mandarine peel, tangerine, tangelo, clementine, and a generous sprinkle of white pepper from the mill. It is comfortable and warming, rolls out a procession of those orange citrus fruits, and adds a groovy note of artichoke. Amazingly, that works a treat. In the long run, it brings back a stronger wood influence, which leaves the tongue a tad dry, despite the back of the mouth salivating. The second gulp is fruitier, meaning it peddles more types of fruits. We have carambola, cantaloupe (especially the skin) and unripe papaya to supplement the citrus from earlier -- citrus that actually seems more acidic and bitter than before. It is never lime or lemon, but unripe Meyer lemon or yuzu certainly. This could or should reach a higher score, but the first nose was a tough nut to crack, today. More so than the first couple times we had this (here and here). 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, OB)