So, our little distillery sample group has reached the end of our quest with the final 10 distilleries to claim: two per person in our 7th round of trades. After so many mediocre malts I decided I wanted to send out two higher quality pours to wind this thing down. We had an agreement to spend a maximum of around $100-110 per bottle for this quest, but I splurged for this independently bottled Braeval offering. Samaroli is an Italian bottling company that typically chooses some crazy good casks for their line of products. This one is a 22 year old, ex-bourbon cask that cost me $209. Let’s see how it plays... Firstly, a bit of history for the Braeval Distillery. They were founded in 1973 by Seagram Distillers and were originally called Braes of Glenlivet, because of their desire to use the infamous water source nearby. They actually held their first mash before the distillery even had a roof over it- their Canadian owner was flying in and wanted to sample some new make ASAP. They were sold to Chivas in 2001 and subsequently mothballed from 2002-2008, before being refurbished and reopened. They currently do not offer a single malt bottling, but a few IBs had access to some casks in the early 1990’s. They currently are still used for blends and produce 4.2 million liters per year for Chivas. This is a beautiful, shimmering gold and makes a lot of skinny, runny legs in the tasting glass. It’s NCF’d and has no color added, while being bottled at 45% ABV. The nose is initially floral and oaky, but given some serious time (30+ minutes) some really great flavors begin to seep out: vanilla, marshmallow, sweet breads and light orchard fruit. The palate is very delicate but packs a lot of flavor: pears, golden delicious apples, sweet vanilla that’s velvety smooth and constant. Keeping it on the tongue allows the oak to slightly burn before turning a bit dry. The finish is medium and full bodied. It’s very balanced between oaky and sweet. It lingers on the dry side, but it isn’t harsh at all. A very delicate and complex sip from start to finish. Overall, it’s a fantastic offering from Samaroli and I can see why it’s so expensive. This was bottle 101 of 222 total. It won’t wow you with super complexity, but what it offers is very, very nice. Easily a 4.25-4.5, regardless of price. Great stuff. Cheers, my friends.