Ah Bunnahabhain. One of the two distilleries on Islay that buck the peaty line and add to the variety of profiles that come from the little island – Bruichalddich being the other. And like Bruichladdich, it does make some peated expressions, which the Malt Nuts dug into a couple years ago. Though for this tasting we were focused on the un-peated style.
To get more specific, we were aiming at unpeated ex-Sherry expressions as a followup to our ill-fated Wine Finished Bunnahabhain Tasting. Since publishing the results of that last one I did manage to cobble together some samples in untainted sample bottles and updated the notes, but the memory of that soapy evening still haunts me.
Malt Nuts: Sherried Bunnahabhain. -Round 1
1A: The Octave Bunnahabhain 7 years (08-15): 52% – “Oak Casks”
- Nose: Sherry, malty spice, dried dark fruit, honey and a touch floral.
- Palate: Sherry, malty spice, dried dark fruit, butter, toffee, honey and a touch floral.
- Finish: Medium -> Sherry, malt, spice and fruit.
- Overall: (3.5 / 5) Fun and tasty, a bit light, but really a nice drinker.
1B: The Octave Bunnahabhain 9 years (08-17): 52.4% – “Oak Casks”
- Nose: Nutty, fruity, spiced malt and a touch of floral and cocoa notes.
- Palate: Malted milk balls (Whoppers / Maltesers), cocoa, spice and nuts.
- Finish: Medium -> Sherried malt and spice.
- Overall: (3 / 5) Decent, fun and nutty with a solid maltiness. Not a mind-blower, but tasty.
Post-Reveal Commentary: I like the Octave series, they always lend something interesting to these tastings and it was fun to taste two side-by-side and see the differences and similarities.
Malt Nuts: Sherried Bunnahabhain – Round 2
2A: Signatory Bunnahabhain 12 years (07-19): 58.9% – 1st Fill ex-Sherry
- Nose: Milk Duds, malt, spice, dark sweets and floral notes.
- Palate: Unintegrated wine and malt, metal, and overripe fruit.
- Finish: Med-short -> Stale, copper and unintegrated and… off.
- Overall: (2 / 5) There’s some of that that unintegrated, winey, “human” note in there, but it’s not overwhelming.
2B: Signatory Bunnahabhain 12 years (08-20): 59.7% – 1st Fill ex-Sherry
- Nose: Floral, spice, malt, cake, smoke and dark fruit.
- Palate: Milk duds, butterscotch, nuts, cereal and a bit of spice.
- Finish: Medium-short -> Touch of nuts and toffee
- Overall: (2.5 / 5) Meh, it’s alright. It’s a bit sweet and starts tipping towards cloying as it opens.
2C: Signatory Bunnahabhain 13 years (07-20): 57.7% – 1st Fill ex-Sherry
- Nose: Nutty, caramel, butter, spice and malt.
- Palate: Buttered toast, caramel, fudge, spice and nuts.
- Finish: Medium -> Warm and fruity with a touch of nuts.
- Overall: (3.5 / 5) Good and fruity with a nice malty profile.
Post-Reveal Commentary: This round was a roller coaster and it’s possible the reason I liked 2C as much as I did was due to it being after 2A and 2B. I’d like to try it again on its own and see it was as good as I thought or if it was a simple matter of juxtaposition.
Malt Nuts: Sherried Bunnahabhain – Round 3
3A: Bunnahabhain 12 years (08-20): 52.3% – ex-Manzanilla
- Nose: Farty, muddy, raspberries, cocoa and nuts.
- Palate: Sulfur and unintegrated wine, “human” (sweat), and bad malt… no.
- Finish: Medium -> Metallic.
- Overall: (1 / 5) No… just no.
3B: Duncan Taylor Bunnahabhain 16 years (02-19): 53% – “Oak Casks”
- Nose: Matchstick sulfur, pepper and fruit.
- Palate: Matchstick sulfur, pepper, nuts, spice and fruit.
- Finish: Medium -> Sulfur and caramel.
- Overall: (2 / 5) Sulfur… just a bit too much sulfur.
3C: The Octave Bunnahabhain 15 years (02-18): 53% – “Oak Casks”
- Nose: Clay, fruit, malt, nuts, raspberry candy.
- Palate: Spice, fruit, malt, nuts, raspberry candy and trail mix.
- Finish: Medium -> Spice and malt.
- Overall: (3 / 5) Not all that great, but far from bad. Decent sipper a bit above average.
Post-Reveal Commentary: I had that Manzanilla cask years ago at another event, when it came out, and I loathed it then too. Again, I’m wondering about my enjoyment of 3C because of its position next to two sulfur bombs.
Malt Nuts: Sherried Bunnahabhain – Round 4
4A: Chieftain’s Bunnahabhain 10 years (01-12): 46% – ex-Sherry Butt
- Nose: Super candy sweet with a bit of nuts and… bubblegum.
- Palate: I keep getting distracted by this tropical fruit/bubblegum note.
- Finish: Short -> Nuts and bubblegum with a bit of leather.
- Overall: (2 / 5) This one was a curveball straight out of the 40 yard line. I don’t know what to think of it or its Big League Chew profile.
4B: Bunnahabhain 18 years (Current): 46.3%
- Nose: Nuts, malt, dried fruit, malt and a bit of spice and citrus.
- Palate: Nuts, malt, dried fruit, malt and a bit of spice and citrus.
- Finish: Medium -> Dried fruit, malt and some nutty toffee.
- Overall: (2.5 / 5) It feels light and kind of weird… like it’s getting overshadowed by everything else we’ve had.
4C: Bunnahabhain 18 years (Old): 46.3%
- Nose: Roasted nuts, sherry, spice, dried dark fruit, malt and some leather.
- Palate: Malt, nuts, spice and a bit of leather.
- Finish: Medium -> Nuts, malt, fruit and spice.
- Overall: (3.5 / 5) Interesting. It feels weaker than the other stuff we’ve had, but it still has a nice character to it. I dig it, I would happily sip on this anytime.
Post Reveal Commentary: Getting to do two versions of the OB 18 yo side-by-side was interesting and showed how the whisky has changed over the years. This is the true beauty of blind tastings, the ability to remove any bias a label might give you and get to the heart of the matter: the whisky.
Malt Nuts: Sherried Bunnahabhain – Bonus Round
Bonus: Signatory Bunnahabhain 13 years (97-11): 53.9% – Hogshead
- Nose: Peat, fruit, malt, spice, copper and leather with a touch of citrus and cocoa.
- Palate: Peat, fruit, malt, spice, copper and leather with a touch of citrus and cocoa.
- Finish: Long -> Peaty smoke, fruit, malt, oak and citrus.
- Overall: (4 / 5) Woah… this is lovely. I’m really digging this, easily my favorite of the night, this is a cracking bottle.
Post-Reveal Commentary: I’m beyond thrilled this one is mine.
Ok, so it wasn’t all un-peated. But when it’s not labeled as such, it’s kind of like getting a bonus prize in the bottom of your cereal box… provided you like peat that is. My friends Sarah and Dale would have spat the amazing bonus out immediately and for them it would have been like finding a furball in their cereal. But so it goes with taste and perspective.
Thanks for reading, till next time, cheers!
