Royal Brackla 8 Years Old 2006 Cask #310818 (A.D. Rattray)

This is a Royal Brackla single malt, chosen and bottled by A.D. Rattray, an 8 year old release from 2006, drawn from cask 310818 and bottled at 61.2%. A release of 300 bottles. Royal Brackla was first built in 1812 in Nairnshire, by Cawdor Castle, and the King's Own Whisky earned its royal warrant in 1833. Long a backbone of the Dewar's blends, it is now bottled as a single malt in its own right.

Drawn off copper stills with horizontal shell and tube condensers, building the elegant Highland style it is loved for. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, gentle American oak beneath the fruit. Younger here, it keeps a crisp, fragrant freshness over light honey. The light, elegant spirit shows cask character clearly even after years in oak. The Cawdor Estate has grown barley and made spirit for two centuries. A long, cool maturation rounds the fruit into honey and dried fruit. Brackla earned the prefix Royal long before most distilleries had a brand at all.

At a full 61.2% it is intense yet elegant. Honeyed fruit and oak spice meet honeyed oak sweetness underneath. Soft orchard fruit and honey sit behind the sweetness. It closes long, fruity and warming. This is the regal Highland malt of Cawdor.