This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Coming of Age: Brora distillery toasts to the official beginning of the new age of peat
By Michelle Johnson | 16 June 2025 | Food & Drink, Travel
As Brora’s first casks filled since the distillery’s £35m reawakening are officially classified as Scotch whisky, we visit the highlands to toast to the official beginning of the new age of peat
For those of us whisky fans who are as moved by the particular romance of a distillery’s story as we are an exceptional dram, there are few more beloved or fascinating brands than Brora. From its Highland origins to its high notes at the age of peat, its record-breaking status as a ghost distillery to its meticulous restoration just three years ago, the story of Brora in many ways reflects the elusive magic of fine scotch whisky as a whole.
And now, Diageo’s restoration efforts have paid dividends as, on a suitably crisp and sunny day in the highlands, the first liquid distilled by the reawakened distillery in 40 years was officially classified as Scotch whisky, marking the start of an exciting new era.
The location itself is nothing short of dreamy: Brora is surrounded by sweeping landscapes of fields and beaches, the air is fresh and clean with a touch of coastal salt. Behind the distillery’s wildcat gates, the painstaking brick-by-brick restoration transports visitors to a bygone era thanks to the frankly gorgeous Victorian architecture and famed local brickwork.
Inside the warehouses, liquid gold from the first age of peat sleeps in barrels, with exceptional casks just waiting to be discovered by the brand’s master blender Dr Craig Wilson. In fact, it was only in November that Craig’s most remarkable discovery was launched as one of ‘The Twelve’ 2024 showcases by Casks of Distinction – a celebration of ultra-rare and finest whiskies from the 10 million maturing casks under Diageo custodianship in Scotland. 
This year’s line-up included the Brora 1977 #2845 Cask of Distinction, a hogshead cask described by Craig as: “One of the rarest and most valuable casks in all of Diageo’s custodianship, this wonderfully old Brora is perfectly formed at 47 years of age, gentle but complex, unique and unrepeatable.”
On site, the Victorian still house is crowned by a traditional bell, ringing out the start of a tour that takes us from carefully recreated or restored equipment to the real star of the Brora distillery: the two original copper stills, buffed and polished to a proud gleam. Brora’s team of master distillers makes modern Scotch using methods and equipment that are utterly faithful to the generations that came before them.
Tying Brora’s storied heritage to the modern day is its beautifully equipped guest centre and dining hall, where Brora distillery host Andrew Flatt is on hand to guide guests through a hands-on history lesson, complete with a few momentous drams that encompass the different eras of the brand and, therefore, of Brora.
More impressively, during my visit I am invited to sample Brora’s 2021 Triptych: a 300-limited-edition collection of three single malt expressions from 1972, 1977 and 1982 launched to celebrate the distillery’s reawakening three years ago and that, together, represent the three core styles produced by Brora over the years. From intense peat and chilli to wax and wood spice, these remarkably different drams are the perfect place to start when understanding this unique distillery’s vibrant and diverse production.
Related: Bushmills’ master blender Alex Thomas spills whisky secrets
SPIRIT OF REINVENTION
Brora, originally known as Clynelish, was built by the Marquess of Stafford in 1819. Situated near Brora, a small village on the Sutherland coast, the distillery would act as a symbol of the area’s status as an industrial powerhouse.
Not only was Brora once home to the UK’s most northerly coal mine (1872-1974) — which would soon power the local woollen mills producing cashmere (today still exemplified by the selfsame-named luxury knitwear brand) — but the village also boasted thriving brickworks and salt production, as well as boatbuilding and salmon fishing industries. In 1913 Brora became the first place in the north of Scotland to have electric streetlighting (powered by the woollen mill), gaining it the nickname Electric City.
Clynelish was one of many distilleries, such as Talisker, tied to the history of the Highland Clearances of the early 19th century – when landowners forcibly evicted thousands of tenant farmers from their homes. In Sutherland alone, 15,000 people were either sent abroad or resettled on the coast to learn a new trade, such as fishing. In Brora, the Marquess established a range of new industries — including the famous brickworks and distillery — and established the expanded colliery, to create jobs for former tenant farmers.
The distillery was not an overnight success. But by 1886 it had gained a reputation for exceptional whisky for blending and, eventually, as a powerful single malt in its own right. The distillery would close twice in the early 20th-century – during the depression years of 1931 to 1938, and then from May 1941 to November 1945 due to wartime restrictions (though rumour has it that low level production may have continued throughout the Second World War).
In 1968, a new and thoroughly modern Clynelish Distillery opened its doors across the road from its predecessor, enabling its owners to produce significantly more liquid as demand grew. Thus, “Clynelish 1” – as it was briefly known – became Brora. Between 1969 and 1981, Brora produced its now famed – and coveted – peated style, as well as a heavily peated whisky that was also used for blending during a dramatic drought and engineering works that impacted production in the Islay region until 1973. Soon enough, the distillery’s Highland style stepped into the spotlight, evolving into its distinctive and delectable blend of peat, wax and spice.
It was in early 1983 that Brora closed its gates for what was thought to be the final time, as the distillery was mothballed alongside many other smaller distilleries – including Port Ellen – during a period of changing tastes.
Related: Pyro is London’s hottest new Green fine dining hot spot
THE WILDCAT AWAKENS
Happily, Brora’s long sleep was not to last, thanks to the unceasing passion of whisky connoisseurs and collectors. As a ghost distillery, Brora’s reputation grew beyond cult status to reach legendary heights, setting records at auction and through rare releases. In 2019, a bottle of Brora 1972 Limited Edition 40-Year-Old sold at Sotheby’s for a distillery record of £54,450.
Its restoration was announced by Diage in 2017, as part of a £35m investment to bring Brora and equally renowned ghost distillery Port Ellen back to life; Diageo has invested a total of £185m into Scotch whisky tourism and whisky visitor experiences since that time. In the spring of 2021, after three years of meticulous restoration, the wildcat distillery roared back in a rebirth that has coincided with a fine whisky industry that has gone from strength to strength. The first casks filled from the reawakened distillery in summer 2021 have now come of age – no longer categorised as ‘new make spirit’, this is, finally, the real deal.
“It’s a historic milestone”, Andrew says. “Three years on since the Wildcat Gates reopened, our new-make spirit is coming of age. This year, what lies in the casks at Brora can finally be called Scotch whisky. We see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for guests to be among the first in the world to sample this whisky in over 40 years.”
Celebrating the milestone, Brora released a second distillery exclusive bottling in the Brora 44-Year-Old Untold Depths. The 150 limited-edition Untold Depths honours the distillery’s age of peat’ with the new release, a single cask bottling from 1977 – bottled from cask number 2637, Warehouse No 1 – and priced at £10,000 per bottle.
“Untold Depths is a classic pairing of a gentle cask and medium peating, which explores the full depth of taste of which Brora is capable,” said master blender Craig of the release, which not only celebrates Brora’s storied legacy of whisky-making but offers its fans and collectors important hints about the distillery’s future – inspired by the iconic age of peat and proving the romance of fine highland Scotch will last for future generations.