Review #37: Bunnahabhain 12 Year

Distillery: Bunnahabhain

Region: Islay

ABV: 46.3%

Age: 12 Year

Price: $55

Color: 1.3, Russet/Muscat. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.

Nose (according to the wife): Very sweet with a nice prickle of the nose. There’s loads of honey/sherry influence in here along with some sea salt.

Palate: Just like the nose teases, this is a sweet with a bit of saltiness. There’s sherry and caramel accompanied by a bit of really dark fruit and some overripe citrus (reminds me a lot the leftovers from sangria). There’s a little bit of saltiness and peat along with lots of oak spice. With a bit of water, the oak spice gets tempered and you get some more smokiness from the peat.

Finish: Long. The oak spices are in full blast here and those sangria fruits make a second appearance. With water, the finish becomes a bit bland.

Conclusion: This is the second Bunnahabhain expression I’ve had the pleasure to try, the first being an independent bottling. I was hoping to get some more of those lovely fruity notes with a bit of peat and this one delivered. The nose really teases what you’re about to get—sweet with a little bit of salty. The sangria fruit notes were really interesting and, more importantly, tasty. I was a little disappointed with the amount of oak spice in the finish as I’d hoped for this to be a little more mellow given the mid-range ABV. Overall, still a solid dram and one that keeps me wanting more.

Final Score: 80

Scotch whisky review #37, Island review #4, Whisky Network Review #49

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection.
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead