Braeval 2014 PST

Braeval Single Malt Scotch Whisky 2014, 12 Years Old 1st Fill PX Hogshead/ 299 bottles 55.3% ABV Artwork by: @KMGYEAH Nose: Heavy, dark, and wonderfully dense. It opens with a sticky haul of dried fruits – chewy figs, Medjool dates, and plump raisins -alongside the caramelised, slightly singed edge of a freshly baked apricot twist pastry. A dusting of toasted cinnamon and fiery candied ginger steps forward next, kept entirely in check by an honest, a micro whiff of struck-match ‘sherry sulfur’ that gives the whole nose real backbone. Palate: Big, sweet, and mouth-filling. That spicy candied ginger charges straight onto the palate, backed by a generous scatter of mixed baking spices and sticky treacle toffee. The texture is wonderfully viscous, picking up a welcome, oily crunch of toasted coconut flakes that balances the darker, heavier dried fruits rolling through the mid-palate. Finish: Long, warming, and pleasantly drying. It shifts toward high-cocoa dark chocolate studded with tart cherries and flakes of sea salt. Sweet cinnamon spice buzzes quietly alongside rich stewed fruits and savoury, spiced plum chutney, before that dirty, satisfying hit of sherry sulfur circles back for a final, lingering curtain call. Non-chill filtered and natural colour. This spirit may haze at low temperatures and under dilution.