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Rare bottle
of 44 year old Brora 1972 up for
auction.
The word rare
tends to be over used these days when it
comes to whisky but in this case I think
you will agree it is very appropriate
for this
bottle of Brora 1972 which is about to come up
for auction. What makes this bottling so
exceptionally rare is that not only is
it the oldest official original
distillery bottling of Brora ever to
come up for sale, it is also the only
bottle to have been drawn from the cask
#4817 it matured in, offering its purchaser a
very unique Brora single malt whisky
from a single cask and a taste of true
rarity.
Adding to the whisky's rarity is the
strength it was bottled at, notably this
Brora 1972 44 year old has been bottled
at a incredibly high strength
considering its age, after maturing for
44 year in an ex-sherry butt it was
bottled at 58.9% ABV, this high strength
after all those years is due to the cask
originally being filled at a very high
strength.
 It is described as "a massive, brooding
and drying old Brora that it is
seemingly made of smoke, oak, pepper,
dark fruit all encrusted in sea-salt
then wrapped in seaweed and oilskins".
It is both the first and last of its
kind, and represents the pinnacle of
Diageo’s single malt Scotch whisky
reserves. Dr Nick Morgan, Head of Whisky
Outreach at Diageo, said: "We’ve seen a
rapid growth of interest in rare and
collectable whiskies, and this bottle of
1972 Brora is the epitome of that. The
auction is not just a once in a
generation opportunity, it is also a
chance for some to own an exquisite
single malt with unparalleled history
and heritage."
Originally known as the Clynelish
Distillery, production began in Brora
Distillery on the north-east coast of
Scotland in 1819 with the backing of the
Marquess of Stafford. In the late 1960s
it was decided to expand production by
building a new distillery, with the old
distillery eventually being used to
supply a need for heavily peated whisky
for blending.
Between 1972-74 production of ‘Brora’
was in batches, becoming regular in 1975
when the distillery itself was
officially renamed Brora. It was however
only produced until 1983, when the
distillery was mothballed never to
reopen.
The Brora 1972 auction will take place
next week on Friday 19 May 2017 in
Bonhams Hong Kong saleroom as part of
Bonham’s ‘Fine & Rare Wine, Cognac and
Whisky’ auction which starts at 9.00 GMT
(16.00 HKT). The Brora 1972 bottle is
featured in Lot 328a at 14.00 GMT (19.00
HKT). To find out more please visit:
www.bonhams.com/auctions/.
I wouldn't like to hazard a
guess to what this one will sell for at
auction but I know it will be out of my
price range, it will be interesting to
see what it does fetch at auction as
Brora is considered one of the most
desirable and collectable whiskies and
this has to be the rarest Brora we will
ever see coming up for sale, it just may
break records at auction.
Of course if the Brora 1972 is out of
your price range don't worry there are
still a few Special Release bottlings of
Brora available from
specialist online whisky retailers such
as
Master of
Malt
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