Thanks to one of the Longmorn brothers dropping by a week or two ago and trading some samples, I have some really terrific stuff coming up in the coming weeks. The original idea was to trade some samples for a set of the Malts of Scotland Bottle-Share samples, but when he arrived he said he was willing to trade a lot more from his sample case. So we did, about 30 samples or so. Good stuff!

I don’t know anything about this bottler, but I do know I like Brora, so here it goes!

Nose:
The smoke is quite light on the nose with a fairly floral background. Also a sawmill with lots of wood dust and chips. The typical farmy Brora notes are slightly less pronounced.

Taste:
It started of deceptingly light again, but the strength builds up a bit. Its not overly complex but with quite a punch in flavour. Not too smoky again, with some hay and a slightly mineral undertone. It doesn’t become metally, thank God.

Finish:
The finish is full and long, quite smooth actually. Spices and wood with peat and some unexpected fruit. I get strawberry very early in the finish, but its gone almost instantly.

Not the best Brora I’ve ever had, but quite far from the worst as well. And the worst would probably still be a three star dram. This one is a lot less complex than most Broras I know, but the flavours that are present make for a very nice package. At first, because of the floral notes I thought it might be a very good Bowmore or something.

Brora 1980-2002, Les Clan des Grands Malts, 51%.