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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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April 11, 2024 |
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New official Braeval and Braes,
head-to-head |
We are very pleased to see that The Whisky Exchange – 'London' as they are called at WF Towers – now has at their disposal some quite rare old malts from the Scottish distilleries of Chivas Brothers - Pernod Ricard, which isn't too surprising, after all. Among them, two Braevals, or rather two Braes of Glenlivet, or one and the other, we may finally be able to understand who is who and why. I take this opportunity to recount this amusing story again, now that there should be a statute of limitations. You see, more than twenty years ago, when Pernod-Ricard had just absorbed Chivas Bros., the rumour went around that the new owners had immediately shut down the Allt-a-Bhainne and Braeval distilleries. |
(Getty) |
As a result, and since I was the French guy in the group, my Malt Maniacs friends asked me to try and find out more, and I had contacted Pernod's PR department. No response. I pressed them, to finally receive this reply by email (emails already existed, young friends): "We really know nothing, are you really sure that these two distilleries belong to us?" You'll say that the same thing happened to me when LVMH bought Glenmorangie/Ardbeg. I had contacted them in Paris to inquire about Ardbeg and potential single casks for France. They had replied, "Oh no, Ardbeg, that's not us, it's Glenmorangie that we own!" Times change, as do customs… |
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Braeval 28 yo 1995/2024 'Lost in Time' (62.6%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, 1st fill American oak barrel, cask #79775, 132 bottles) 
This is where you learn that the Distillery changed its name from Braes of Glenlivet to Braeval one year before this baby was distilled, so in 1994, probably to stop using their own 'Glenlivet' suffix, but not too sure about that part. In any case that's not a move by Pernod. Knowledge is power (in truth I should have been aware of that a long time ago already). Colour: gold. Nose: glad to have an unsherried one, and glad to find this rather extreme 'full on ale' profile, that I really enjoy. Having said that, at this strength, you just get what you can. With water: there you have it, malt whisky almost in its pure state, with ripe apple, pears, Californian IPA, hence quite some citrusy hops, and of course lots of barley, puffed or not, cereals... It's really ultra-natural. Mouth (neat): huge maltiness, even more on ale and other beers, plus just touches of American oak (coconut and vanilla) but once again, this is not exactly 'a drinking strength'. No chances taken... With water: much less coconut (phew), more on citrus, gooseberries, apples, greengages, quince... Finish: long, with a bit of white pepper from the cask and still apple and quince. Comments: it's truly like being in an orchard. This isn't a flamboyant malt, it's not very 'wow!', but it has remained wonderfully close to nature all these years.
SGP:551 - 88 points. |
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Braes of Glenlivet 31 yo 1992/2024 'Lost in Time' (50.7%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, 1st fill American oak barrel, cask #111566, 60 bottles) 
Interesting that they wouldn't have selected one of those thickish sherry casks Braes was pretty famous for. Colour: pale gold. Nose: decidedly more complex than the 1995, certainly more approachable at this strength. There's a strong presence of oriental pastries, orange blossom water, brioches, panettones, honeyed water, gueuze, honeysuckle, acacia, very ripe plums, cake batter... It's very beautiful. With water: beeswax is added to the mix, as well as almond paste. Mouth (neat): excellent, very close to the nose, deeply on greengages and quince paste, with a hint of Meursault (indeed) and always these oriental pastries, but spicier on the palate. Truly excellent. With water: but it's so good! Still very much on cereals, yellow fruits, mild spices, a bit of honey, ripe apples, plums... The wood has remained very elegant, we are more within the refined, educated classes of malt whisky. Well we might adopt a Marxist approach to whisky one of these days.
Finish: beautifully long, more honeyed, with a little lemon and a touch of dill. Not the slightest sign of any overly intrusive wood at this ripe age. Comments: quite a statement. For Whiskyfun, tasting such an excellent unsherried Braes, and an official release at that, is a very pretty milestone. And we knew it would happen one day...
SGP:651 - 91 points. |
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