Let’s try some more bottlings from the Lost In Time collection. This is a special collaboration between Chivas Brothers and The Whisky Exchange. Remember there are eight releases between 20 and 33 years old, all from Speyside distilleries. All very distillate-driven too, from what we’ve seen so far.
We already had the Glen Keith, Miltonduff and Glentauchers. Now we’re looking at the Longmorn and two releases from Braeval distilleries.
We start with Braeval spirit produced while it was still called Braes of Glenlivet. In 1994 a dispute with the nearby Glenlivet distillery was settled with a name change.
Braes of Glenlivet 31 yo 1992 (50,7%, OB ‘Lost in Time’ 2023, first fill barrel #111566, 60 btl.)
Nose: very aromatic. It has the typical Speyside sweetness: apricots, honey and honeysuckle, plum jam. Some beeswax, ginger cookies and orange peels, along with apple cake and vanilla. Then quite a lot of floral notes and varnish. Overall really elegant, with high complexity.
Mouth: the oak does give it a marked floral character, mixed with gingery notes, lemon peels and white pepper. Yellow apple, a bit of honey and crushed barley. Increasingly grassy over time, with green spice, tea leaves and a mild hint of pine wood. Still plenty of refinement.
Finish: long and floral, with more lemon peels, honey and hints of dough. Greengages too.
Jackpot: a highlight in this series already. Delicate and floral but with a nice punch. This may well be the best Braeval we’ve had so far. Available from The Whisky Exchange.
Longmorn 30 yo 1993 (54,4%, OB ‘Lost in Time’ 2023, second fill hogshead #56087, 180 btl.)
Nose: very distillate-driven indeed. Classic fruits with a subtle mineral edge. Apples, pears, green melons and unripe peaches. Hints of Belgian Trappists (or rather their beers), vanilla pastries. Then smaller notes of grapefruits, chalk, some butter and earthy spice in the background. Very pure.
Mouth: a complete basket of orchard fruits, along with some oranges and a tangy hint of grapefruit peel. Greengages, yellow plums and green apples. A few floral touches, along with ginger biscuits. Grassy tea leaves and leathery notes towards the end.
Finish: long, with green spice, light leather, honey and some oak varnish.
Another very good whisky: fresh, bright and completely stripped to its essence. A little understated in that sense, and the problem with these neutral casks is that you hardly feel the 30 years of ageing, but that the price is primarily based on the age. Available from The Whisky Exchange. Score: 90/100
Braeval 28 yo 1995 (62,6%, OB ‘Lost in Time’ 2023, first fill barrel #79775, 132 btl.)
Nose: quite neutral, with plenty of orchard fruits like pears and apples, along with hints of coconut shavings and white pepper. Lemons and green apples, with vanilla custard in the background. After a while it settles on the classic combination of barley-driven spirit with bourbon spice. Exactly what this series wants to showcase.
Mouth: the strength seems to bring out the oak spice first. White pepper, hints of nutmeg and ginger. Then plenty of malty notes again, with vanilla pastry, hints of white chocolate and more coconut shavings. Tart berries and lemon in the background.
Finish: long and quite peppery, with some vanilla and apple.
While this is a perfect fit for the series, we are also bordering the boring side of bourbon wood, if you know what I mean. Especially at such a high strength, the first fill barrel adds a lot of spice to the already neutral spirit. Fine whisky but there’s not enough excitement for the price, in my humble opinion. Available from The Whisky Exchange. Score: 86/100