January 14, 2015

Bunnahabhain bottled 2014,
vertically, part two

We're back after some pretty long (kind of) holidays. So let's go on with our little 'Bunnies'...

Bunnahabhain 24 yo 1989/2014 (45.9%, Lord of the Drams, Corps Flaminea)

This one by another small Belgian bottler. It’s incredible how passionate about whisky some Belgians can be. Good people! Colour: white wine. Nose: another very orchardy one, that’s all I can say. Sweet apples, pears, gooseberries, plums, peaches, also a little honey, also hints of ripe bananas, also a little barley sugar, also drops of oranges. A few leaves and grass in the background, then a little antiseptic, as if this was an ex-peater cask. Mouth: spicier, but all the fruits are there. I won’t list them all again. Some fresh oak, white pepper, cinnamon, vanilla… Good body, good balance, alles in Ordnung. Finish: quite long, slightly more astringent, with some liquorice wood and green tea. A salty touch in the aftertaste. Comments: impeccable Bunnahabhain, not always flabbergasting, but consistently… err, consistent. This is one of the better ones. SGP:551 - 87 points.

Bunnahabhain 25 yo 1988/2014 (50.4%, The Single Malts of Scotland, hogshead, cask #4344, 193 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: styles aren’t dissimilar – an euphemism – but this one has got a little more of Bunnahabhain’s flowery honeyness, as well as a little more herbal teas (loud and clear lime blossom). With just a drop of water: a bit of humus and green tea. Chlorophyll? Mouth (neat): almost the same whisky as the 1989. Maybe a little more liquorice, maybe not. The saltiness is there as well. With water: all good. Green apples, then a growing feeling of honeydew (pine honey) and cough lozenges. Eucalyptus? Finish: good length, good grassiness and sappiness. More honeydew. Comments: I was rather having it at around 85 until I added water. I love honeydew, but this baby doesn’t take its mate’s crown. SGP:451 - 87 points.

Bunnahabhain 26 yo 1987/2014 (50.01%, Lady of the Glen, cask #2470)

I’m serious, they really wrote ’50.01%’ on the label. How funny is that? Colour: straw. Nose: these are the limits of such an exercise, this wee Bunny is very close to its siblings yet again. Fresh garden fruits, light honey, herbal teas, tinned fruits, yellow flowers, mild grassiness, moderate earthiness, and all that. With water: same. Maybe a little menthol. Mouth (neat): almost the same whisky as the 1988, really, which was almost the same whisky as the 1989. With water: the whiskies are almost undistinguishable. Now I could try to sound smart and tell you that the 1988 rather had Red Delicious apples, while this one has Pink Lady apples (of course, the lady of the glen). How stupid would that be? Finish: medium length, fruity and grassy, with chlorophyll and other green stuff in the aftertaste. Comments: excellent again. The whiskies are great, but the set is a little boring. All my own fault of course. SGP:451 - 87 points.

And as a punishment…

Bunnahabhain 26 yo 1987/2014 (51.1%, Highland Laird, Bartels Rawlings)

Colour: straw. Nose: same as above. I can’t find any differences, not even when trying to look smart. Same parcel of casks, if not the very same cask. With water: same. Or maybe is there a little more vanilla? Not too sure. Mouth (neat): same. Totally undistinguishable. With water: totally indeed. Finish: same. Once again, a grassier aftertaste. Comments: I’m feeling bad, this is great whisky, I did not want to mess it about. Great freshness, excellent fruits, perfect herbal and grassy side, good body, and balance is perfect. Very good. SGP:451 - 87 points.

I think we’ll go down to older vintages, it was about time…

Bunnahabhain 34 yo 1980/2014 (44.7%, James MacArthur, bourbon and sherry, cask #87)

I remain a James MacArthur fan. Colour: gold. Nose: it certainly is more ‘tertiary’ than the others, with more polished wood, old furniture, cakes, light jams, kumquats, touches of tinned pineapples, Juicy Fruit… I also find an admirable fresh coastalness to this, not quite iodine or ‘old boats’ but yeah, a walk on the beach early on the morning. Great light and very elegant nose that reminds me of some officials that were distilled in the 1960s. No, not the heavily sherried ones, of course. Mouth: lovely old wood, like in an old Chambertin, no less. I even find black cherries, mind you. And kirsch, which is rougher, slivovitz, Swiss abricotine… so yeah, eaux-de-vie, and yet this isn’t spirity. It is oaky, but it’s great, fresh greenish oak. But watch the finish with those notes… Finish: indeed, the finish is a little tannic and drying, just like some strong unsweetened green tea, but I think that works, since it comes with notes of green bananas. Comments: lovely lovely lovely. There’s too much oak for 90, even 89, but that’ll be some big fat… SGP:551 - 88 points.

Could the Germans win again?... (don’t m… the w…)

Bunnahabhain 34 yo 1980/2014 (47.1%, The Whisky Agency, The Perfect Dram, refill butt, 504 bottles)

Not too sure about the pink colour, but after Kilkerran’s latest, there’s pink and there’s more pink. You’re right, who cares? Colour: gold. Nose: shamelessly fragrant. Patchouli, old roses (really), pot-pourri, peonies, then old gamay (say a great old Brouilly that kept particularly well), oranges, strawberry jam, old quality barrels, mead… And yet this baby isn’t winey, but I’m starting to understand why the bottlers decided to paint it pink. Yes sherry is a white wine. Mouth: falls back into line a bit, it’s now very close to the James MacArthur. Same kind of pleasantly green oakiness, plum spirit, kirsch, fresh almonds and marzipan… Certainly stone fruits. Finish: quite long, tannic but not too tannic, maybe a little more on oranges. Quite some white pepper in the aftertaste. Comments: I think these babies shouldn’t have been bottled any later, the oak really feels in the finish and the retro-olfaction’s a little problematic. But other than that, it’s all very fine. And the nose was great. Brouilly, he said… SGP:551 - 88 points.

Check the index of all Bunnahabhain I've tasted so far

Bunnahabhain bottled 2014, vertically, part two

Bunnahabhain bottled 2014,
vertically, part two