“Bunnahabain” 28 Year (1987-1991) Wemyss Malts Untold Riches

Scotch Whisky Review #500: “Bunnahabain” 28 Year (1987-1991) Wemyss Malts Untold Riches

Distillery: Bunnahabhain.

Bottler: Wemyss Malts.

Region: Islay.

Age: 28 Year. A vatting of casks filled between November 30th, 1987 and December 2nd, 1991.

ABV: 49.1%.

Cask Type: Vatting of 31 hogsheads and sherry butts.

Price: £190.00 at auction in July of 2021. Originally sold by Wemyss for £150.00.

Color: 1.4, Tawny.

Nose: Even months after opening this, it does seem to still need a bit of time in the glass. It starts off a bit drying and slightly boozey with some wood varnish. Dried fruit notes – raisins, golden raisins, figs, prunes – really dominate. After a bit of resting time, the boozier notes are gone. You don’t quite get wood varnish anymore but you do get very much old wood notes. almost like they’re dripping with sherry. Those dried fruit notes stick around and just as dominant as before. They’re joined by some marzipan, ground almonds, and a bit of black forest cake.

Palate: A drop of water is needed to wake this up. You get a very deep, dark fruit note reminding me of wine stewed plums, Fig Newton filling, and prunes. Old wood and chestnut puree also show up. Another drop of water brightens things up a bit. The more dark, cooked fruit notes get brighter and fresher. There’s a bit of something herbal as well, very much like what I stuffed my thanksgiving turkey with – pears, sage, thyme, rosemary. The whisky became sweeter as well with some sherry shining.

Finish: Medium to short in length. It’s fairly drying, as if you’re having a nice red wine. There’s a lot of fruit with dark cherries, poached pears, and cranberry sauce.

Conclusion: For my 500th Scotch review, I’ve pulled out something that is quite special to me personally. The distillation of the whisky that went into this “misprint” bottling of Bunnahabhain by Wemyss comes from 1987 through 1991, a pair of very important years for the wife and I. Whether or not the actual liquid in the bottle was special or not, this bottling already has a special place in my heart. Thankfully though you do get a fantastic whisky here. The nose is chock full of dried fruit notes and some darker dessert notes showing right away out strong the old sherry influence is here. The palate follows up on that by adding some earthier notes and some herbal notes. The finish lightens things up a little bit and gives you a nice dry finish, very wine-esque. Delicious!

Rating: 92.

Scotch Whisky Review #500, Islay Review , Whisky Network Review #665

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.

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