Tasting notes Serge Valentin: 91/100 (WhiskyFun.com)

Many people had thought that the quality of the Brora 30s would dwindle year after year as they would move away from the magical vintages from the early 1970s. I was among those people and I’m sorry to say that up to last year, we were proven wrong. Maybe that will change?

Colour: straw.

Nose: right, this isn’t as peaty as the 30yo used to be and we’re rather closer to the 25yo from two years ago, with something that’s rather ‘Talisker’ in the nose. It’s not explosive, rather delicately marine, seaweedy, almondy and buttery, with light vanilla notes and just hints of patchouli and various dried flowers. It’s got something slightly ‘old-world’. Faint farminess arising after a while, together with a little more peat. With water: as expected, more farmy, seaweedy, slightly grassy. Almond oil.

Mouth (neat): this is more like an early-1970s Brora, with a good deal of peat, lemon and salt plus some obvious medicinal notes, antiseptic, wood smoke, kippers… It’s still unusually ‘unbig’ at 54% vol. and rather more lemony than others but quality’s very high here, no doubt about that, even if it’s not quite a ‘2004’ in my opinion. With water: ah yes, it’s all there now, with the salt, these oily notes, ‘a feeling of petrol’, more almonds, that famous waxiness, smoked salmon ( from river Brora of course), lemon… All perfect now. There must be some older casks in the vatting, and not just one.

Finish: long, salty, sooty, smoky, paraffiny, with hints of green olives and anchovies in the aftertaste – or is that only brine?

Comments: it’s funny how water revived the ‘Broraness’ in this Brora that’s rather less fruity than last year’s version in my opinion. I think Diageo should add a free miniature of Gleneagles water with each bottle.