Tasting three new Braeval aka Braes of Glenlivet

June 17, 2013

Tasting three new Braeval aka Braes of Glenlivet

Braes/Braeval is a bit obscure and certainly not as fashionable as other names, but it isn't Allt-A-Bhainne either. Oh well...

Braeval 18 yo 1994/2013 (49.7%, Liquid Library, bourbon barrel)

Colour: straw. Nose: sweet, fruity, delicately malty and pleasantly mundane, if I may say so. A fruit salad (apples, peaches, oranges… all that ex-tin) with a little barley water, vanilla and maple syrup. A light but very clean profile, becoming quite bubblegumy after a few minutes. Mouth: clean, sweet and malty, with good body and just the same kind of fruitiness as in the nose. So a fruit salad again but no bubblegum this time. Finish: quite long, rather more on brown sugar and sweet barley syrup. Some caramel and fudge in the aftertaste. Comments: a very easy dram, right in the middle of Scotchmaltness. Goes down a treat, I’d say. SGP:541 - 83 points.

Braeval 18 yo 1994/2013 (52.5%, Liquid Treasures, bourbon hogshead, 120 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: a grassier, les aromatic variant. A little less fruits and bubblegum for a while but I must say both drops tend to converge after a few minutes. Probably close sister casks. Mouth: once again, we’re close to the Liquid Libray. A little more punch from the higher alcohol, maybe touches of pears this time while there’s rather less fudge… But we’re very close. Finish: rather long, very malty. A funny fizziness on your tongue. Comments: I tend to like the Liquid Library a notch better because it’s… kind of easier! SGP:541 - 82 points.

Braeval 23 yo 1989 (54.2%, The Whisky Barrel, Burns Malt, hogshead, cask #1074, +/-2013)

Colour: straw. Nose: it's a more violent and, quite bizarrely, more spirity version. It's quite citric too. Aspirin tablets? Lemon squash... Let's see what water will do to it. With water: it's almost a miracle, we now have a mildly smoky herbal liqueur. Spearmint, high-end wulong tea (or blue-green tea)... Beuatiful. Mouth (neat): an unusual one again. Starts with big notes of ale mixed with lemon liqueur, then we have more and more citrus fruits, some parts making me think of Rosebank or Littlemill. A lot of grass, it's a little acrid at this point. Chewing on green tealeaves? With water: not quite a miracle this time but water works indeed. Lemongrass and barley sugar. Finish: rather long, clean and lemony (with water). Comments: I think water is obligatory here but then... SGP:541 - 84 points.

Check the index of all Braeval I've tasted so far