Royal Brackla 1979 SMWS 18 Year Old 55.8

Founded in 1817, Brackla distillery was the first in Scotland to be granted a Royal Warrant, becoming Royal Brackla at the behest of King William IV in 1835. The distillery was primarily tasked with providing malt for blending, and became part of DCL (now Diageo) in 1943. It was one of the many distilleries that they were forced to close due to a production surplus in the 1980s however, mothballed between 1985 and 1991. Royal Brackla was sold along with the rest of those associated with the Dewar's brand to Bacardi in 1998. Although Bacardi launched a single malt brand for the distillery in 1999, it was not widely distributed until it was repackaged as part of their Last Great Malts collection in 2014. Independent releases from all eras have become increasingly sought after.

This Royal Brackla was distilled in January 1979 and matured in a single cask for 18 years. It was bottled by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in September 1997.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) was founded in 1983 by a group of friends lead by tax accountant Phillip ‘Pip’ Hills as a private members club. The concept behind the society was to source casks from all over Scotland which would then be bottled and made available exclusively to its members. Perhaps the most famous feature of these bottles are the unique codes. Each distillery is represented by a different number and the following digits indicate that particular release. That same year, the SMWS set up its first location in Leith’s Vault buildings in Edinburgh where it still stands today.