Braeval 2014 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 55.3%

Nose: Heavy, dark, and wonderfully dense. It opens with a sticky haul of dried fruits – chewy figs, Medjool dates, and plump raisins  -alongside the caramelised, slightly singed edge of a freshly baked apricot twist pastry. A dusting of toasted cinnamon and fiery candied ginger steps forward next, kept entirely in check by an honest, a micro whiff of struck-match ‘sherry sulfur’ that gives the whole nose real backbone.

Palate: Big, sweet, and mouth-filling. That spicy candied ginger charges straight onto the palate, backed by a generous scatter of mixed baking spices and sticky treacle toffee. The texture is wonderfully viscous, picking up a welcome, oily crunch of toasted coconut flakes that balances the darker, heavier dried fruits rolling through the mid-palate.

Finish: Long, warming, and pleasantly drying. It shifts toward high-cocoa dark chocolate studded with tart cherries and flakes of sea salt. Sweet cinnamon spice buzzes quietly alongside rich stewed fruits and savoury, spiced plum chutney, before that dirty, satisfying hit of sherry sulfur circles back for a final, lingering curtain call.

Breaval a southern Speyside distillery in the Livet Glen is owned by the Chivas Brothers {Pernod Richard}. Founded back in 1973 the distillery was originally named the Braes of Glenlivet but was renamed Breaval in 1994 to avoid any confusion with a neighboring site. The relatively young distillery is situated on a mountain ridge making it notably one of the highest in Scotland. The Pitilie Burn is a great source of water for the Breaval distillery.

Mothballed for seven years, production commenced once more in July 2008. Most of the whisky made is used for blending and the distillery can outturn 4.2 million litres per year. The spirit has also on occasions been sold to independent bottlers too. In 2017 the first official bottling, a 16 Year Old Single Cask Edition was released. Interestingly, the distillery’s stills have upward sloping lyne arms allowing the whisky produced to have a great lighter, floral style.

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