Royal Brackla
Royal Brackla was founded in 1812 by William Fraser and in 1833 the distillery was the first of only three distilleries allowed to use the “Royal” in the official name.
In 1852, William hands the distillery over to Robert Fraser and co who run the distillery until 1897 when the distillery then runs under the stewardship of the Royal Brackla Distillery Company.
Jump forward to 1964 when the distillery is closed for refurbishment until 1966, the distillery is then mothballed in 1985 for around 6 years.
Production resumes in 1991 and has continued ever since and with a capacity to produce 4.1 million litres of alcohol per year this highland distillery is one of the brands going into the blends produced by owners John Dewar and Sons.
The single cask
Independent bottlers “ The single cask” were set up by founder Ben Curtis in 2010, a few years later Ben opened the first Bar officially connected to the brand in Singapore apply named “ The single cask “ where lovers of whisky can find a vast array of single malts from the range and from many more official and independent bottlers.
The idea behind the brand is not only to bottle some of the finest single cask available or run independent whisky bars but they also offer the chance of buying a cask of matured / maturing whisky or freshly filled casks of new make spirit..
Royal Brackla Single Cask
Distillery.. Royal Brackla
Region.. Highland
Distilled.. 7-11-2006
Bottled.. 15-5-2018
Age.. 11 years old
Cask.. Re Fill Bourbon #310864
Abv.. 60.9%
Outturn.. 285 bottles
This is Naturally Coloured and NCF.
Nose.. An initial burst of heather honey is soon followed by orange peel, apple and ripe pear.. A touch of cinnamon develops which leads into chocolate and vanilla notes.
Palate.. Pepper brings in the heat with ginger and orange rind soon following.. There is a honeyed sweetness fighting to get through but it’s all about the spices in this one..
Finish.. Lingering spices and oak
Thoughts.. This is a beast of a dram and with that 60.9 % abv it certainly pack a punch.. The palate is all about the big spicy notes and if like me you enjoy that in a whisky then you are going to love this dram !!
Exploring single casks like this offering is always enlightening as every cask tells a different story.. No two casks are ever alike and therefore when you get the chance to try any single cask offerings you should jump at the chance..
I often hear people say negative things surrounding single casks as they often dont taste like the official bottlings released by the distilleries but isn’t that the point !! The official offerings are made to give us a flavour profile and it’s the fact these single casks offer diverse flavours that enable the master blenders the chance to produce that initial profile..
Explore the single casks and take it for what it is – A unique insight into the distilleries you love and a different experience to what you might be accustomed to..
