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Home » Royal Brackla Adds 12, 16 And 21 Year Old Whiskies To Mix

Royal Brackla Adds 12, 16 And 21 Year Old Whiskies To Mix

Scotland's Royal Brackla distillery, founded in 1812, gets three new single malts to add to a portfolio mostly known for blended Scotch.
  • Nino Kilgore-Marchetti, founder of The Whiskey Wash, is an award-winning whiskey journalist, expert, and judge
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Scotland’s Royal Brackla distillery is not a whisky brand that’s well known to single malt drinkers, mostly because much of what this facility produces ends up being used in blends. There was an uber rare and expensive 35 year old single malt released from here mid-last year, but for folks looking for more down to earth bottlings those have seldom been released. That’s changing though via three new whiskies being put out this month as part of a greater project known as the Last Great Malts of Scotland.

John Dewar & Sons (Bacardi), the owners of Royal Brackla, are making available 12, 16 and 21 year old expressions which are pricing around £46 ($70 USD), £85 ($130 USD) and £175 ($270 USD), respectively. All of this single malts herald from a distillery with a rich history, having been founded in 1812 in the Highlands region. The first to be granted a royal warrant (1835), Brackla is said to make use of notably tall stills which “run at an unusually slow pace. Their height allows plenty of reflux, with the leisurely nature of the operation increasing the contact that the spirit shares with copper, thus filtering out unwanted sulphury notes.”

Royal Brackla

“This is the one that was described as ‘The Drink Divine’ by the Royal household in the 1830s, that’s no small claim, so we had to take our time and the entire team have done an amazing job that really does justice to Royal Brackla’s incredible heritage,” said Stephen Marshall, Bacardi’s Global Marketing Manager, Single Malts, in a statement. “There’s only one whisky in the world that can be the first Royal whisky, I feel privileged to have worked on this.”

Official tasting notes for these three releases from Bacardi are below for your consideration, and as for availability, expect to see all of the expressions showing up in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States and Global Travel Retail.

Royal Brackla 12 Years Old, 40% ABV – Salute a superior Scotch: almonds, vine fruits, opulent spices; steeped in sherried richness. Ennobled nectar, fit for a king.

Royal Brackla 16 Years Old, 40% ABV – A royal flush of flavour: vanilla, soft caramel, ripe apricots; replete with sherry tones. Hold court with a monarch of the glens.

Royal Brackla 21 Years Old, 40% ABV – All hail a high-born spirit: summer berries, dark chocolate, star anise; infused with sherry sweetness. A member of malt aristocracy.

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is the founder of The Whiskey Wash, an award-winning whiskey lifestyle website dedicated to informing and entertaining consumers about whisk(e)y globally. As a whisk(e)y journalist, expert, and judge, he has written extensively about the subject, been interviewed in various media outlets, and provided tasting input on many whiskeys at competitions.

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