Brora

In the annals of Scotch whisky history a spattering of distilleries stand out for their distinct flavour or personality. The Brora Distillery is definitely in the topflight of these. First founded in 1819 under the name Clynelish, the distillery was only renamed Brora in 1969. Oddly enough the name change came about because the then closed distillery was reopening and a larger newly constructed distillery across the road was producing ‘Clynelish’ spirit.

Although the stills were identically shaped, the two spirits were very different from a flavour perspective. Brora had been reopened to fill a void in the market; the distillery began distilling a heavily peated spirit to be used primarily in blended whisky. The little distillery continued to produce a peated spirit of varying levels through the 70s until it was finally mothballed in 1983.

The undisputed romantic reverence for this lost Highlander is the quality and variety of its spirit. The Brora distillate matures into a phenomenal malt whisky: uniquely malty with a rich and highly distinctive oak-driven backbone. Whilst this distillery may never live and breathe again, the remaining stocks are unquestionably some of the finest whiskies one will ever encounter.