Product Description
THE BARTENDER’S BOOK
The Brora 1982 40 Year Old Old & Rare is an exceptionally rare Highland single malt Scotch whisky, distilled in 1982 at the now-silent Brora distillery and bottled in 2022 by independent bottler Hunter Laing as part of their esteemed Old & Rare series. Matured for four decades in a single refill cask, this expression was released at a natural cask strength of 47.4% ABV, with a limited outturn of only 50 bottles, making it an exceptionally rare and sought-after release. It showcases Brora’s signature lightly peated character, complemented by notes of coastal salinity, smoke, and dried fruits, culminating in a long, warming finish. This bottling stands as a testament to Brora’s storied legacy and is highly prized by collectors and connoisseurs alike.
TASTING NOTES
Taste is more than flavor. It is the full conversation between glass, nose, mouth, and memory. Here, we break each spirit into four parts:
AROMA
Old Highland peat, wax, lemon peel, dried grass, antique oak, soft coastal smoke, orchard fruit, and faint medicinal smoke.
PALATE
Mature peat, citrus oil, waxy malt, old oak, smoke, mineral dryness, yellow fruit, honey, and pepper.
FINISH
Long, smoky, dry, and elegant, with lingering peat, lemon peel, oak spice, and a coastal mineral edge.
TEXTURE
Medium-bodied, old, waxy, polished, and dry, with mature cask integration rather than brute force.
This is a 40-year-old Brora from the distillery’s final production era, bottled at a still-healthy 47.4% ABV. It reads as old Highland peat filtered through time: smoke, wax, citrus, dry oak, and coastal austerity, with the volume turned down from power to complexity.
STRAIGHT TALK
This is deep collector territory. The strength is obvious: 1982 Brora, 40 years old, Hunter Laing Old & Rare, single cask, and only 50 bottles. The limitation is equally obvious: it is priced and positioned as a trophy bottle, not a practical bottle. The Whisky Shop listed it at £5,500, while The Whisky Exchange’s listing emphasizes its 40-year refill-cask maturation and cult-Brora status.
Availability Note:
This is a tiny-release collector bottle. It was limited to 50 decanters, and normal retail availability should not be expected. Any future appearance will likely be through specialty retail, private collections, or auction channels.
THE MIX
Brora 1982 40 Year Old Old & Rare lives in the world of old peat, wax, citrus peel, mineral smoke, dry oak, and coastal Highland restraint. The flavor logic should stay elegant, aged, and slightly austere.
Citrus:
Lemon peel, bitter orange, citron, grapefruit zest, preserved lemon
Fruit:
Yellow apple, pear skin, dried apricot, quince, green plum
Spice / Herbs:
White pepper, bay leaf, thyme, heather, dried sage, fennel seed
Sweet / Dessert Notes:
Heather honey, shortbread, almond biscuit, light toffee, beeswax, vanilla pod
Savory / Food Pairings:
Smoked trout, oysters, roast chicken, grilled leeks, mushroom tart, aged Comté, charred root vegetables
Jazz Chef angle:
A ghost from Brora’s last days: wax, peat, lemon peel, old oak, and Highland weather, all speaking in a low, expensive voice.
A DISTILLER’S TALE
Brora closed in 1983, which made its remaining stock finite and steadily more collectible. The 1982 vintage carries extra weight because it came from the distillery’s final production period before closure. Hunter Laing’s Old & Rare series is built around mature, limited single-cask Scotch, and this release fits that model exactly: one cask, four decades of aging, and only 50 decanters. WhiskyFun identifies the bottle as Brora 40 yo 1982/2022, bottled by Hunter Laing under Old & Rare from cask #HL19390.
MY TAKE
This bottle sits near the museum end of Brora collecting. It has the right collector signals: old-Brora distillate, 1982 vintage, 40-year age statement, single-cask release, and only 50 bottles. The likely caveat is price-to-experience. At this level, the buyer is paying for history, scarcity, and provenance as much as flavor. The Jazz Chef take: this is not “open on a random Tuesday” whisky. This is old Brora preserved like a fossil in amber, smoky, waxy, rare, and carrying the last weather of a vanished distillery.
SIMILAR SPIRITS
Related products
-
The Brora 1st Release 30 Year Old, bottled in 2002
$4,360.30 Sold By: The Whisky Vault -
Brora 1972 30 Year Old Sherry Cask Old & Rare Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
$11,000.00 Sold By: Cask Cartel -
The Brora 1972 Connoisseurs Choice Map Label, bottled in 1997 by Gordon & MacPhail
$3,809.99 Sold By: Cask Cartel
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.