Braeval 2002 17 YO The Distillery Reserve Collection

Braeval 2002 17 YO The Distillery Reserve Collection, 56.4 %

Up until the pandemic hit you could only (with very few exceptions) only buy the bottlings in the Chivas Brothers The Distillery Reserve Collection at the visitor centre shops at Chivas Brothers distilleries. Now they have opened up for sale of these bottlings online.

The Distillery reserve Collection is always single cask and cask strength. The whisky is also, of course, always distilled at one of the Chivas owned distilleries.

The Braeval 2002 17 YO The Distillery Reserve Collection was distilled 2002-03-26, and bottled 2019-05-30. It has been matured in a 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel (cask #13913), which yielded 276 bottles.

You can buy the Braeval 2002 17 YO The Distillery Reserve Collection in the Chivas online store at GBP 95.

Nose: Very fruity on first approach. Strawberries, rowanberries, apples and pears. Marshmallows with dust, ginger, white pepper and vanilla. Tomato plant.

Taste: Full bodied and fairly spicy in character. White pepper, mild chilli, creamy vanilla, toasted oak. Simple syrup with ginger flavour.

Finish: Medium long finish. Much as it started really. A bit more mellow, less spicy, but also slightly more fruity. Greener now as well. Softly oaky.

Comment: An utterly enjoyable bit of fun.

Score 88/100

Sláinte!
-Thomas