Brora – 20 Year Old 1975 Rare Malts Selection (75cl, 59.1%)

This is a 20 year old Brora distilled in 1975, released in the Rare Malts series. It is a Highland single malt at natural cask strength, 59.1%, in a 75cl bottle. The distillery closed in 1983. The colour is straw. The nose opens with peat smoke, cider apple and shoe polish, then old leather, paraffin, oysters and lemon; with water it turns mineral and flinty. The palate has vanilla, green tea and bitter liqueurs, growing grassier as the peat fades, with walnut, salt and wax when water is added. The finish is long and austere, with traces of peat and orange zest.