Kategoriarkiv: Bunnahabhain

Bunnahabhain, Islay

Bunnahabhain 12 YO

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ABV: 46.3 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is salted caramel, red fruits and vanilla oak. From the start there’s a fruity front of raspberries and a salt and vanilla base. The oakiness is found somewhere in between and it’s very much present from the start. It has a tiny pine note attached to it, as well as some anise. After a few seconds a sweet caramel and honey note builds up in the middle together with some sweet oranges. There is also a backdrop with ocean air and a hint of oil and seaweed. This is a very interesting nose.

Mouth: It starts out sweet, salty and slightly bitter. It’s also peppery and there’s an immidiate astringency. There are grapefruits and oranges a-plenty and the raspberries get pushed back into the background. The vanilla and caramel are still in there, but not as pronounced as on the nose. The sweetness is mainly honey driven. There’s a speck of dust and the oily note is still acting as a backdrop. Overall, it’s quite hot and intense.

Finish: The salty caramel takes a step forward and creates a fruity dessert together with grapefruits, oranges, raspberries and just a hint of tropical fruits. The intensity rises slowly but steadily in the first part of the finish. When the oak arrives it brings an espresso note and it sort of transforms the fruitiness towards a more sour experience. It’s grey, weathered, dry oak planks. In the late finish there’s a smokiness coming through. This is a great expression, but it really demands your attention.

Additional information
This expression is distilled in small batches and aged in a mix of ex-bourbon barrels and ex-sherry casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Bunnahabhain, Islay

Bunnahabhain Mòine

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ABV: 46.3 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 3
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet peat with a hint of fruits. The first thing to come through is wet hay, a warm burning wood fire and mild honey sweetness. In the center there’s a savory note coming through and in the back vanilla and some red apples create a nice solid backdrop. This is not especially complex on the nose. It is nice, but needs quite a bit of time in the glass to open up.

Mouth: The honey sweetness is first to arrive and then the peatiness comes after. It’s still hay and woodsmoke, but now there’s a medicinal note attached to it. The savory note is toned down and the fruitiness is barely noticable. After a second or two a layer of bitterness builds up around the edges.

Finish: A mild spicyness creates a small introduction to a very medicinal peat note. It soon changes back to the warmer notes again with the woodfire and honey still as main flavours. A hint of the vanilla returns and together with the mild bitterness it transcends into a fresh ”wet” oakiness. There’s no astringency and the peat, the honey and the oakiness sits together in a long, very pleasant finish.

Additional information
This was released in 2015. The cask type used isn’t disclosed but smell, taste and colour suggest american ex-bourbon oak barrels. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Bunnahabhain, Islay

Bunnahabhain Mòine Brandy Finish

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ABV: 55.3 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is ashy and fruity. At first there’s an ashy layer sitting on top of a fruity center part mixed with both herbal and coastal peat notes. The fruitiness comes through as mainly ripe grapes and apples. When it starts to settle, vanilla and honey notes add to the center part and a slight dustiness appears in the back together with a floral (almost soapy) note. There’s a nail polish remover note somewhere within as well. This is a very rich and interesting nose with a lot of different roads to explore. It lacks a bit of logic and at times it feels like it’s all over the place.

Mouth: It starts out with a big peat punch with a herbal and wet peatiness growing in the center part while the ashy notes spread with a peppery note in all directions. The peatiness switch character halfway through and becomes very mineral rich. It’s dusty and after a few seconds the ripe grapes appear in the middle of the palate. It’s not especially sweet and it’s a very rough character at this point. There is a liquorice note appearing after a few sips. The floral note is still found in the back but it’s easy to miss behind the big wall of peat.

Finish: The transition is logical without any big spikes or dips. A gentle rise in the pepper spicyness occurs, otherwise the flavours carry over in a nice way. The ashy peat is still floating around on top and it’s still a mineral rich peat in the center with the ripe grapes and an apple or two.. Once the heavy peat settles the floral notes with lavender, coconut and the dustiness start to take over and becomes the main feature until the oakiness start to appear. The oakiness arrives in a nice, slow pace and seem to let the other flavours have their time to shine. It’s a nice old and dusty oakiness with a touch of hazelnuts. This is a great whisky which is really interesting to explore.

Additional information
This is a limited release aged in ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in ex-brandy casks. It was distilled in 2004 and bottled 2017. The bottle no. is 718-4152. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Bunnahabhain, Islay

Bunnahabhain An Cladach

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ABV: 50 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
This whisky is a limited travel retail exclusive release. There is no information about maturation period or casks used, but there are ex-sherry casks involved. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Bunnahabhain, Islay

Bunnahabhain Cruach-Mhòna

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ABV: 50 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
This whisky is a limited peated release exclusive to travel retail. There is no information about maturation period or casks used. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Bunnahabhain, Islay

Bunnahabhain Toiteach A Dhà

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ABV: 46.3 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is red fruits and sweet peat. The full impact is immidiate and it brings liqeuer-soaked red fruits, raisins and a sweet and smoky peatiness. The peatiness is coming through with notes of vanilla and pipe tobacco. There’s a background layer with dry soil and a touch of sea salt. It’s quite mild on the nose, yet very rich even though there’s a youthness shining through in the background. The nose remains very consistant and doesn’t change with time, except for it becoming slightly sweeter.

Mouth: It starts out with the liqeuer-soaked red berries and a hint of lemon but soon the peatiness starts to roll through to become the main feature. The dry soil is still found in the background. After a while a bitter note starts to emerge to, ever so slightly, take over the background together with a rubber/oily note. It’s still salty, but there’s no vanilla and the whole thing is less sweet than on the nose.

Finish: The rubbery/oily note is making an appearance before the sweet side of the peatiness comes through once more. A mild pepper spiciness spreads out and the red berry fruitiness is now residing in the back together with the bitter note. The oakiness arrives and steps forward after a few seconds. It’s a spicy oak and it brings a nutty quality to the finish. This is a great mix of sherry and peat, and a very nice overall experience.

Additional information
The Toiteach A Dhà is aged in a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks for an undisclosed amount of time. This is a sequel to the Toiteach expression. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Bunnahabhain, Islay

Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair

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ABV: 46.3 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is red fruits and salty ocean air. The first thing to come through is sweet red berries and vanilla with a coastal backdrop of salt, seaweed and driftwood. There’s also a grapefruit note somewhere in the middle. It’s not a sweet nose but there is a sweetness which seems connected to the sherry notes. It becomes brighter and fruitier with time in the glass and the grapefruit is soon accompanied with a squeeze of lime. There’s a small hint of cardboard coming through from behind, which probably is a sign of some younger malts used. This is an interesting nose, which brings two differences together to make one whole.

Mouth: It starts out oaky and malty. It’s dry and there’s a green pine youthness coming through. The outer layer is still very much a coastal thing with the salty notes and dry weathered oak. It’s honey sweet but the vanilla is barely noticable. The fruitiness is still coming from fresh red berries, but it’s not as pronounced as on the nose. There is a spicy side to it, but it takes a bit of time for it to show up. The fresher citrus notes is still in there and they create a much needed contrast to the other flavours. It becomes sweeter with time and a couple of sips.

Finish: It’s still malty with a bitter tone sitting in the middle. There’s a chili pepper spiciness building up as the other flavours arise. The pine note is all too present and the coastal notes is still residing in the outer layer. It’s a touch astringent and dry. When the oak starts to emerge it seems to be attached to the pine note. The fruitiness returns in the late finish and somewhat rescues the oak from the green, young pine note. The vanilla also make an appearance down the road. This is an interesting dram, but the pine note brings it down a notch or two.

Additional information
The Stiùireadair is aged in first- and second fill ex-sherry casks. The ages varies between the casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Bunnahabhain, Islay

Bunnahabhain 18 YO

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ABV: 46.3 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark and complex. At first there’s a sharp layer of nail polish remover sitting on top of a dark raisins and overripe plum fruitiness. In the beginning there’s a certain unpleasant vibe to the whole which is hard to pinpoint. A mixed wood note comes through with both pine and oak. After it settles down the nail polish remover disappears and leaves a menthol cloud floating around. After a long wait there are notes of mixed dried fruits and berries, leather and tobacco taking over. There’s also a sweetness hiding behind the fruits. This is a nose which at first feels very weird. The lack of sweetness really makes it sharp and one-dimensional. This changes a lot with time in the glass and when it settles it’s quite nice.

Mouth: It starts out with a pine and oak note surrounding a dark and sweet center. It’s got a nice spicyness to it. The center part brings black coffee, dried fruits and tobacco together with a nice salted caramel note. It’s dark and slightly inaccessible and the absense of sweetness is tangible but after a good 20 minutes in the glass it balances itself out and becomes quite lovely. There are some damp and dusty notes in the background which reflects the age, but the dark and bitter center part is not giving away the limelight easily. It’s quite nutty as well. For those who wait there’s a salty sensation arising from within and the texture is absolutely to die for.

Finish: The spicyness becomes a mild chili heat but never spikes through the transition. The fruitiness is not as dark as before and the start of the finish is really complex and interesting. It’s still a mix of dried fruits, salty butterscotch, black coffee, leather and tobacco. There’s a nice nutty side to it with walnuts leading in to the oakiness. It’s a mellow oak which is slightly dry. This is a great Jekyll and Hyde whisky. Which one you get depends on how long you wait before you approach the glass.

Additional information
This whisky is supposedly ”small batch distilled”. There are ex-sherry casks involved in the aging, but no cask types are disclosed. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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