The return of Royal Brackla on WF


February 10, 2026

The return of Royal Brackla
on WF

It’s not that one is obliged to sip Royal Brackla regularly, but still, the prefix ‘Royal’ is enough to spur us on—we poor, jaded, secular republicans. Alas, no official bottling today; truth be told, I’ve no idea where they’ve got to. I do hope they’re doing well…

It's one of the funniest bottles of malt, it is real, it is the 35-year-old Brackla released in 2013, aka The Holy Hand Grenade. We laughed so much! Having said that, we never tried it...

Royal Brackla 13 yo 2011/2025 (56.9%, Lady of the Glen, 1st fill tawny port finish, cask #1315, 159 bottles)

Certainly, it’s a tawny port finish, but never mind, we shall endure… Colour: full gold. Nose: the wine is obvious, with cherry jam, prunes, a honeyed Cognac-like side, plus a brandy de Jerez sweetness that borders on the indecent. Worst of all, it’s really rather pretty. We’re going soft! With water: springs back elastically to malted barley, with shortbread, oatcakes, and scones… Mouth (neat): heavily jammy and confit-like, yet also spicy and peppery… Peppered onion chutney, gingerbread—only the foie gras is missing. And I hate to admit I rather enjoy it. With water: blast, it’s truly good. I reckon it’s the pepper, quite dominant, that sets the pace and reins in the wine’s sweetness. And we do like pepper. Finish: long, curiously well-balanced, candied, and ultimately rather fresh. Comments: something miraculous happening in this tawny-ed Brackla, to think I wouldn’t have wagered a kopek. Then again, Lady of the Glen know what they’re doing…
SGP:651 - 85 points.

Royal Brackla 13 yo 2012/2025 (57.2%, Watashi Whisky, refill sherry octave, cask #574490)

Back we go to Taiwan, with our feline friends duly restored to glory. As it should be! Colour: white wine. Nose: the hue suggests a very, very well-behaved octave indeed—bravo. Truth be told, we’re knee-deep in fresh barley, damp soil (Scottish, naturally), and roots—celery, carrot, potato, even turnip—I daresay you could turn this wee Brackla into a broth and everyone would love it, me included. Lovely touches of parsley and chervil. With water: sourdough starter, pizza dough, actual sourdough… Long live the great outdoors. Mouth (neat): back to the fruity side with apples and pears, all steeped in ale and dusted with white pepper and nutmeg. It’s all rather rustic, really. With water: cider and beer. Finish: medium in length, with a nice bitterness and a touch of ginger. Comments: naturally, when one sees ‘octave’, one expects cask-driven madness. Not the case here at all, on the contrary, despite the ginger, and even if it’s not quite transcendental.
SGP:551 - 84 points.

Royal Brackla 16 yo 2008/2025 (58.2%, Signatory Vintage, Symington’s Choice, 1st fill sherry butt, cask #2, 676 bottles)

And here comes the full sherry treatment. I don’t believe Brackla is quite a distinctive enough malt to fight an onslaught, so we’re bracing ourselves for a proper bacchanalia of dried fruits and assorted nuts. Colour: full gold. Nose: well, no, this is civilised stuff, still focused on walnuts and hazelnuts, but also soft pipe tobacco, bitter orange, triple sec, chestnut purée… With water: strong ale and an old tobacco tin. Mouth (neat): very bitter, heavily cask-driven, all cedarwood, pencil shavings, bitter orange, green walnut, fresh turmeric… It feels rather like a brawler on the palate at this stage, truth be told. With water: that same strong ale again, Belgian no doubt, cellared for twenty years or more. My beer knowledge pretty much ends there, though we’ve surely gone well beyond that point already. The sherry remains squarely in the nutty corner, dry and bitter as it should be. Finish: fairly long, though a touch less dry, with notes of mead, for instance. And naturally, old amontillado. Comments: very classically Jerezian.
SGP:461 - 87 points.

Check the index of all Royal Brackla we've tasted