A Pilgrimage To Brora
Lewis Chester DipWSET on how Diageo is creating the ultimate luxury whisky collector experience.
Modified on August 18, 2024 , Published on September 18, 2022
Champagne does it exceptionally well. Bordeaux is equally adept at providing luxury VIP experiences for wine lovers. Napa Valley has created a second business line from it. Scotch whisky, however, has generally overlooked it, in favour of relatively low–end tours and retail–buying opportunities for those who are golfing or have other reasons to be in Scotland. At least, until now.
Diageo recently undertook a $240 million investment in up–grading a number of distilleries, with an eye to increasing interactions with its loyal customer base, as well as to take advantage of the popularity of the Highlands as a tourism destination. As part of this huge investment programme, it decided not only to revive Brora – a Highlands distillery it had shuttered in 1983 – but to refurbish it, brick by brick, with a view to replicating (as closely as possible) how the whisky was produced at the time of its closure.
Around 260,000 man hours and tens of millions were spent to achieve that end. The doors opened in mid–2021 with the first 10 casks of new make Brora coming off the single original spirit still (dating from the late 1950’s), now aging peacefully in Warehouse No. 2.
However, while a fascinating story – especially when one works through the archives and interviews former employees to recreate the style (or styles) of Brora from the 1970s through to 1983 – the real story is how Diageo have created a temple to both Brora superfans and whisky lovers in general. Offered on a limited basis, the experience sees whisky aficionados treated to a highly personalised VIP tour, exclusive tasting and high–end lunch in situ. Brora has become a luxury whisky destination for those willing to fork out between $400 to $800 per person to experience it. And they will not be disappointed.
My own journey to Brora came via a winning bid in the 2021 Golden Vines Fine Wine, Rare Spirit & Experience Auction, All proceeds from the auction go to the Gerard Basset Foundation to fund educational programmes around diversity and inclusivity in the wine, spirit and hospitality sectors. As with all the lots in this unique auction, it included a rare bottling and a VIP experience. Andy Flatt, a commanding but genial former Police Custody Officer who spent the best part of fourteen years running a “five–bar hotel” for custodial offenders, is the perfect host to guide you through the unique history of Brora. It also helps that, in his former police career, he had a side–gig as a whisky writer, which honed his knowledge and passion for the product.
The Brora experience is essentially a privatised day at one of the most authentic distilleries that exists in Scotland today. Passing through the refurbished gates, which reference the establishment of the distillery – then known as Clynelish – in 1819, you enter a world that time has forgotten: at least, until being spirited into one of the refurbished buildings which serves as the main reception and entertaining area.
Stylishly decorated and with a high degree of attention to detail (including the plush toilets), Brora is no whisky–based Disneyland. For example, there are no tartan throws anywhere to be seen. Modernity mixes with a feeling of tradition and authenticity. This place, after all, is principally aimed at those with a great deal of knowledge and passion for the whiskies of Brora.
Entering a large living room area that features a beautiful wooden table produced from a single piece of 200–year old oak, your eye is immediately drawn to the copper ringlets set into the table that detail milestones in the Brora journey: 1819, and the establishment of the distillery by the Marquis of Stafford; 1983, and the closing of the distillery; 2019, and the refurbished stills are brought back to Brora; 2021, and the first cask being filled at Brora in 38 years. As the well–dressed, attentive waiting staff serve you coffee, tea and Highland Spring water, Andy starts to explain the history of Brora.
Brora was known as Clynelish until 1968. At that point, the owners built a new distillery on the other side of the road – literally a stone’s throw away – and made a seemingly controversial and counterintuitive decision. The new distillery – still to be referred to as Clynelish – was designed to create a more efficient and cheaper process to produce whisky, as well as increasing capacity significantly: modern Clynelish can produce around 5m litres in contrast to its predecessors’ 850,000 litres per annum.
Although the distillery had always been known locally as Brora (the town’s name) rather than Clynelish, the brand and reputational value was in the Clynelish label. The owners decided to keep the original distillery for a new project – and call it Brora, as the unique style of whiskies coming off the still were very much associated with Clynelish and would be impossible to replicate at the new distillery.
As part of the personalised experience, if it happens that you have previously purchased a Brora cask, the team can hunt down the exact details for you, including the date when the mashing was undertaken, the length of fermentation, the temperature of the still, the cut levels (hearts and feints), and when the spirit entered the cask. If, on the other hand, you have a particular interest in pipes, water supply, construction or anything else for that matter, Andy can utilise the comprehensive array of archive materials to educate you accordingly on your trip.
Of course, like aficionados of all artisanal products, the whisky fanatic is interested in quirky stories surrounding the maker. These include the less-than-industrious former employee who used to sleep on the job. Needing to devise a way to wake himself up before his foreman found him snoring away, he would throw barley onto the exterior steps leading up to his office. Pigeons would then start massing and create an almighty hubbub when someone arrived which, as a result, would wake him up from his slumber. Or there’s the fact that, as was the convention at the time, if you were a junior apprentice, you were not allowed to wear facial hair, whereas all the seasoned employees sported beards and moustaches, as evidenced by the black-and-white photographs on the walls.
We then run through copies of the original distillery construction plans from famed 19th-Century distillery architect Charles C Doig. These include inventory books; employee records; and even an Evening Express headline from 16th February 1983: “Shock as Whisky Giant Drops Axe on 500 Jobs” (despite other news from the day including the local murder of a child and the court hearing of the infamous serial killer, Dennis Nilsen).
Having imbued us thoroughly with all things Brora, Andy begins the physical tour of the distillery. We see every part of the whisky-making process – except for the barley maltings, which take place in the Glen Ord Maltings further south. And, Andy indulges my every question regarding how they managed to replicate the workings of the distillery as it existed at the time of its closing in 1983. Diageo decided to do the exact opposite of the original owners: they have deliberately recreated an inefficient (in the modern sense) production facility limited to a maximum capacity of 800,000 litres. Whereas most modern distilleries have dispensed with worm tubs (above ground, often rooftop hot water tanks used to recondense the vapours from the stills into a liquid) in favour of smaller, efficient cold water tube condensers, the refurbished Brora has decided to keep the worm tubs. They believe the greater copper contact with the spirit vapours help strip out the vegetal, sulphurous notes in the whisky in favour of a cleaner, fruit–driven, bigger mouth-feel spirit.
Despite the religious fervour that went into recreating the old Brora, there has been one aspect of change that is very much a nod to the present and future. The entire distillery is carbon neutral. Sustainability is a key theme of the rebuild. They have even positioned the pot ale, as well as spent lees tanks, inside the plant so they can harness the heat for other parts of the building. ‘Old’ Brora used a coal-fired heating system for the stills and plant. ‘New’ Brora uses a biomass solution: a wood-chip boiler. Meanwhile, Brora’s diversity credentials have been enhanced by employing Jackie Robertson (below) as their first ever female Master Distiller.
Having spent over an hour viewing the distillery, including the old cask warehouses, we wander back to the comfort of the entertaining areas to partake in a very special tasting. This time, we pass through a bottle library featuring some of the most famous Broras, as well as highly prized bottles from other Diageo whisky brands. We are now in the dining room, which would not look out of place in the headquarters of Goldman Sachs or Blackstone. In the centre of the long dining table is a magnificent presentation case featuring the $39,000 Triptych Collection: three aged whiskies from 1982, 1977 and 1972 chosen to represent the zenith of the three Brora styles – or more accurately, three distinctive eras in the history of Brora – that the refurbishment will soon deliver, albeit in the form of a new-make spirit. (We will have to wait many decades to repeat the tasting from the new-make Brora.)
The first of the whiskies, the 1982, features the typical waxy, honeyed notes that Brora is principally known for. At 47.5 percent ABV, it has a depth and weight that I was not expecting from eyeing the glass. Indeed, the whisky was thick and chewy. It would have been more accurate to say I was eating, rather than drinking, it. With a couple of drops of water, I could smell caramel and chocolate aromas coming from my 19th century-styled nosing glass. Absolutely delicious.
Next up was the 1977, chosen to represent the heyday of Brora’s experimentation with a peaty style of whisky. With this much age, the peat notes were more background noise than dominating the aromas. The whisky, at 48,5 percent ABV, was finely balanced, refined and classy, and the finish went on forever. Indeed, the expression ‘iron fist in a velvet glove’ has never been more apt. With a couple of drops of water, the smoke was replaced with pleasant ‘ashtray water’ aromas, however unpleasant that sounds.
The final whisky was truly mind-blowing, and my personal favourite: produced in1972, bottled as a 40–year old, and changing hands in the secondary market at close to $65,000 and perhaps the most sought-after Brora expression that exists. In the Triptych edition, the 1972 is the ultimate expression of the earthy style of whisky that Brora collectors seek more than any other. The aromas are almost farmyard in nature. Lead pencil, iodine and wet rock minerality aromas highlight the immense complexity in this whisky. With two drops of water, the medicinal smell of TCP and peat became apparent. At a lowly 42 percent ABV, the whisky is very moreish. Truly incredible.
The story of the of Brora’s earthier style is, itself, fascinating. In the early 1970s, the Master Distiller was dismayed, thinking the whisky was faulty as a result of mistakes during the production process. Little did he know that it would produce the style of whisky that would create legions of superfans. In essence, the Brora expressions from this period are the equivalent of Palo Cortado sherry, yet another highly sought-after style that occurred by mistake but one which has now been embraced by the sherry industry to satisfy consumer demand.
Post–Triptych tasting, we retire to the far end of the dining table to enjoy a well-deserved lunch. Brora utilises the services of Links House, a luxury hotel next to the Royal Dornoch Golf Course, 30 minutes’ drive from the distillery, and where a number of Brora’s VIP guests choose to stay. Links House’s head chef, Kevin Barber, prepars a delicious lunch, featuring local produce. (They can cater for any client wishes, including kosher catering.) Although the focus of the trip was clearly on the whisky, Andy indulged me with Californian Chardonnay and Pinot Noir while we discussed the finer points of life.
After taking our coffees, Andy invited me to walk the two hundred paces from Brora to the Clynelish distillery for another tour and tasting. Killing two birds with one stone was much appreciated. Finally, Andy’s team present my leaving gift, a bottle of Brora 1978 200th Anniversary Exclusive Release which I won, along with the Brora experience, at the 2021 Golden Vines Fine Wine, Rare Spirit & Experience Auction. Although excited not to be leaving empty handed, it will be my fond memories of Andy and the Brora experience that will stay with me for a very long time to come.
Brora extends a warm Highlands welcome to those wishing to visit the distillery. Distillery visits are conducted in small groups and on a by appointment basis only in order to ensure the tour is intimate and bespoke. Bookings can be made here.
Lewis Chester DipWSET is a London-based wine collector, member of the Académie du Champagne and Chevaliers du Tastevin, co-founder of Liquid Icons and, along with Sasha Lushnikov, co-founder of the Golden Vines® Awards. He is also Honorary President and Head of Fundraising at the Gérard Basset Foundation, which funds diversity & inclusivity education programmes globally in the wine, spirits & hospitality sectors.
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