Review by: The Muskox
As the fall weather starts to roll back around, my attention begins to shift back from beer and cocktails to scotch whisky. What better way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon?
I picked up a 30 mL sample of this whisky from the Bunnahabhain distillery when I visited last summer (read the trip report here).
Distillery: Bunnahabhain.
Bottler: Official bottling.
Region: Islay.
ABV: 58.2%. Cask strength.
Age: 15 years. Distilled March 18th 2002. Bottled February 26th 2018.
Cask type: Finished in Spanish oak wine casks.
Price: N/A, sample.
Color: 1.3, Russet/Muscat. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Sweet, salty, and tart. Brown sugar, bruised banana, strawberries, fresh orange. Croissant with salted butter, or spiced monkey bread like the bakery near me does.
A dribble of water brings out some darker fruit notes and creamy chocolate.
Palate: Medium-thick body. Warm and very sweet arrival with candied nuts, toffee, lemon, and ginger. Develops to charred oak with mineral notes of sea salt and smashed rocks, then a wave of tart fruit: orange, passionfruit, mango.
The water brings chocolate here as well, balancing some of the tartness.
Finish: Long, turning quite fruity-tangy. Five Alive, do they still make that? Salty mud, almonds, banana, demerara sugar, and baking spices. Lingering orange juice and limestone.
Conclusion: A very dessert dram, especially if you’re like me and enjoy fruity and tart desserts (or sour cocktails). Over the course of my glass, the whisky went from being almost-too-sweet to almost-too-tart, then hit a better balance once I added the water.
If you’re unhealthily obsessed with my reviews, you may notice that a lot of these notes are similar to the 2008 Manzanilla Cask Bunnahabhain I tried at the distillery last summer. That’s because I got my notes mixed up and started writing this review based on those… in fairness to me, they’re very similar whiskies, to the point where I found almost all the notes from the 2008 in this whisky as well! The main differences in this one are a heavier body and more of a tart citrus character.
Final Score: 85.
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.
