Review by: The Muskox

I took so long to post all my reviews from my whisky club’s last tasting that we’ve already had another tasting. This one was exclusively white-label Bunnahabhains! To start off, here’s one of this year’s Feis Ile releases, finished in Calvados casks. This’ll be my first Calvados-matured whisky – very exciting, even if it comes in this ridiculous giant box.

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Distillery: Bunnahabhain.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 49.7%. Cask strength.

Age: 23 years. Distilled October 28th 1998. Bottled in January 2022.

Cask type: Finished for 2 years in Calvados casks.

Price: £400

Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Fairly sweet and fresh. Caramel apples, yes, but also lemon zest, elderflower, and white cherries. Cocoa powder and allspice. Chocolate-covered macadamias, sponge toffee, and olive oil. …Wait a minute, there’s some peat here. Musty-nutty, prosciutto-esque, with black pepper and brine.

Palate: Medium texture. Arrives with honey, apples, lime, and some light brine. Creamy-buttery in the middle, then more surprise peat, musty oak, long-dead campfires, birch bark, underlain by green apple tartness and salted peanuts.

Finish: Medium-length. Creamy, earthy, and lightly salty. Hot cocoa with marshmallows. Apple crumble and honey. Cappuccino and birch bark.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Morning coffee at a Normandy campsite”

Conclusion: Wow, this exceeded my expectations. The peat notes are a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. Every time I came back to this glass after tasting one of the other unpeated drams, the peat seemed to get stronger and stronger. Maybe this distillation run came right after a peated run? It’s not too appley, and has this phenomenal creaminess and subtle oiliness. Love that birch bark note – it takes me right back to This is good enough that I’m tempted to go find more Calvados-matured whisky, or even that weirdo Compass Box hybrid Calvados/scotch blend.

Final Score: 88.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.