Royal Brackla 12 Year Old 2006 The Whisky Agency for Taiwan

Close to Cawdor Castle – famous from Shakespeare’s Macbeth – lies the Brackla distillery, founded By Captain William Fraser of Brackla in 1812. Since 1835 she calls herself Royal Brackla after receiving a royal warrant from King William IV. This single cask from 2006 was selected by my Taiwanese friend Joseph Wang and sports the very lovely WeiWei Fong on the label – if you do not know her, she is a Taiwanese top model and Instagram sensation. Not that this means anything for the quality of the liquid of course.

The nose is light and dry, on white fruit and peach with a hint of lime in the background, as well as some green garden herbs. Something mildly bitter like chicory and soft and sweet like mocha, but in all honesty not very outspoken. After a few moments, some Galak Popri kicks in (for those unfamiliar, that’s white chocolate with puffed rice).

Oh! That’s much better! A lot more character on the palate than the nose promised, that’s nice. Sturdy body, lots of white pepper and then a whole range of citrus notes: lemon, lime, mandarin and yuzu! Becomes very summery. The second sip adds some mocha and mango, as well as a hint of orangettes and pineapple. Some nuts too. Well, well, this is becoming quite pleasant indeed.

The finish is medium long, somewhat peppery, but mostly fresh and lively. Summer dram.

The nose really put me on the wrong foot. On the palate and in the finish this is a lovely, summery malt that allows itself to be enjoyed very easily on my terrace in southern France (with a cube of ice no less, fuck off!). Great cask selection by my Taiwanese friend that urges me to finish with a quote from England’s most famous author: ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’.

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