Tri Carragh Braeval 16 Year Old

Key Facts About This Single Malt Scotch Bottler: Tri Carragh Distillery: Braeval Age: 16 years old Distilled: 2010 Bottled: 2026 Region: Speyside, Scotland Spirit: Single malt scotch Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-peated red wine octave Alcohol by Volume: Cask strength, 62.7% Bottled: Natural colour and without chill filtration Outturn: 92 bottles Bottle Size: 700ml Braeval 16 Year Old Tasting Notes Nose: Elegant yet powerful, opening with dark red berries, blackberry preserve, and plum skin layered over floral malt and soft vanilla cream. The red wine octave brings a gentle richness and subtle tannic depth, while delicate wisps of earthy peat smoke sit quietly in the background. Hints of cocoa powder, polished oak, and warming baking spices emerge with time in the glass. Palate: Big and concentrated at natural cask strength, delivering waves of black cherry, cranberry, and stewed forest fruits alongside honeyed malt and rich caramel. The octave maturation adds texture and intensity, with notes of dark chocolate, toasted oak, and red wine reduction. The ex-peated influence is restrained but effective, introducing a gentle smoky dryness that balances the sweeter fruit character. Water softens the spirit beautifully, revealing more creamy vanilla and soft spice. Finish: Long, warming, and slightly drying, with lingering dark fruits, cracked black pepper, and charred oak. Subtle smoke and cocoa bitterness remain through the finish, alongside a final note of sweet malt and berry compote. About this Tri Carragh whisky This Braeval 16 Year Old from Tri Carragh is an intense and highly individual Speyside single malt that combines mature fruit-forward spirit with the darker, more savoury influence of an ex-peated wine cask finish. Distilled in 2010 and bottled in 2026, this release was matured in a second fill ex-peated red wine octave, an unconventional cask choice that layers together red fruit richness, gentle smoke, and concentrated oak influence. The octave’s small size dramatically increases interaction between spirit and wood, creating depth and intensity in a relatively short finishing period, while the second fill nature of the cask keeps the wine and peat influence controlled and integrated. Braeval’s spirit is naturally light, floral, and elegant, often carrying delicate orchard fruit and honeyed malt notes. Here, that softer Speyside character provides the perfect canvas for the richer octave influence. The result is a whisky that remains balanced despite its formidable strength, with the peat acting more as a structural element than a dominant flavour. On the nose, dark berries, blackberry preserve, and plum skin sit over floral malt and soft vanilla cream, while wisps of earthy peat smoke drift quietly in the background. Notes of cocoa powder, polished oak, and warming spice emerge gradually, giving the whisky a layered and contemplative character. The palate is concentrated and mouthcoating at full strength, delivering black cherry, cranberry, and stewed forest fruits alongside honeyed malt and rich caramel. The octave maturation adds dark chocolate, toasted oak, and a wine-reduction richness, while restrained peat smoke introduces a dry, earthy counterpoint that prevents the sweeter notes from becoming overpowering. The finish is long, warming, and slightly drying, carrying dark fruits, cracked black pepper, charred oak, cocoa bitterness, and lingering sweet malt into a slow, smoky fade. Bottled at a commanding 62.7% ABV, with natural colour and without chill filtration, this is a whisky with serious intensity and texture, yet one that responds beautifully to dilution. With an outturn of just 92 bottles, it is an exceptionally limited release that showcases Tri Carragh’s more experimental side while remaining impressively balanced and drinkable. A dark, powerful, and intriguingly smoky Speyside malt - combining red wine richness, restrained peat, and mature fruit in a bold but elegant dram.