Review by: The Muskox
This dram was part of a Bunnahabhain tasting that I cohosted a few months ago. It wasn’t one of the drams that I had to prepare notes on, so the review slipped through the cracks until just last night.
Distillery: Bunnahabhain.
Bottler: Official bottling.
Region: Islay.
ABV: 60.7%. Cask Strength.
Age: 14 years. Distilled on October 10th 2005. Bottled on January 23rd 2020.
Cask type: Initially matured in refill hogsheads, then finished in Burgundy red wine casks.
Price: N/A, sample.
Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Sweet and very dark. Loads of dark winey fruit – Black Forest cake, raspberry jellies, pomegranate, dried apricots, aged balsamic, and plum sauce. Strong dark-roast coffee, pumpernickel, caraway seeds, roasted almonds, and black pepper. Some pungent earthiness and salt. Dark-chocolate-covered orange peels, with the citrus getting brighter as the whisky develops. Slightly floral.
Palate: Medium-thick texture, very full with a tongue-coating texture. Arrives with pomegranate juice, tart berries, and more balsamic. As it develops, there’s a wave of salted dark chocolate, deep earth, and creamy coffee. Strong charred oak, baking spice, and brown sugar, giving this almost bourbon-y quality.
Finish: Medium-long. Blackberries, espresso roast, black pepper, earthy malt, and dunnage. Lingering dark chocolate, crème brulee, browned butter, and toasted oak.
Possible SMWS bottling name: “Gateau at the bottom of the wine cellar”
Conclusion: Impressively good. I don’t usually love drams that are quite this wine-forward, but Bunnahabhain’s distillate is robust enough to make it work. Super dark, super toasty, loads of coffee and burnt sugar, it’s like if you sucked the few good parts out of Loch Dhu and left out the crap.
Final Score: 86.
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.
Malt Runners 