Bunny is back


August 17, 2017

Bunny's back

Didn’t we say we’d have more Bunnahabhain? We might even do a little random whisky archaeology in the Library, as we always like to do…

Bunnahabhain 28 yo 1977/2005 (49.7%, Riegger’s Selection, cask #7865)

Not a very common vintage, but we’ve already tried a few. Some have been very good. Colour: gold. Nose: I believe Bunnahabhain was a little fatter and oilier at that time, and this is a good example. Linseed oil. There’s also a little metal (iron), and many dead leaves. Autumn’s around the corner! (not quite yet). Some white truffles too, old wood… In short, this one’s more austere on the nose, but quite intriguing. Mouth: old woods all over the place, damp floated wood, liquorice root, lemon peel, and only then the expected honey and lemon. Some kind of peat as well, this is firmer and tenser than current offerings. Finish: long, rather bitter, grassy, and quite salty. Haven’t they tried to mimic Highland Park at some point? Comments: very interesting, and rather to my liking. Indeed, an intriguing ‘pre-vanilla’ old Bunnahabhain… SGP:372 - 86 points.

Bunnahabhain 28 yo 1988/2016 (46.8%, The Single Malts of Scotland, hogshead, cask #100229, 344 bottles)

This bottling’s not that old… TSMOS already had an excellent 88/14 (WF 87). Colour: straw. Nose: it’s an austere one as well at first nosing, but white orchard fruits are soon to come to the rescue. They come with hay, cut flowers from last Sunday, and hints of cigars. Rather dry, with a nice earthiness. Mouth: there, the expected honeyed citrus and other tart fruits. Green apples, perhaps a little plasticine… A nutty side as well, toasted walnut cake, some grass, green tea… It’s a rather big Bunnahabhain. Finish: long, a little sharp, but with the trademark grassy honeyness, and more easy fruits in the aftertaste. Comments: excellent, and rather complex. Great balance between the honey and fruits, and the grassier side. SGP:561 - 88 points.

Bunnahabhain 35 yo 1980/2015 (47.1%, Sansibar for Spirit Shop Selection, sherry, 165 bottles)

This one should be heavier. Colour: deep gold. Nose: a blend of beeswax and plasticine at first, furniture polish, then meaty cigars, Grisons meat, leather, and the expected old walnuts. It’s a traditional dry sherried Bunnahabhain, quite earthy as well. Whiffs of late-season quinces and medlars. Mouth: starts a bit brutal and dirtily earthy (which is not that bad), develops with more leather and tobacco (and the usual walnuts), and tends to become bitter-chocolate dry, although a few touches of oranges make it a tad lighter. It’s also rather very peppery. Finish: rather long, grassier, but also with more fruits. Perhaps those quinces? Comments: It’s not an easy one, but to tell you the truth, there is some profoundness. The opposite of a modern rich yet flat vanilla bomb. SGP:462 - 87 points.

Bunnahabhain 27 yo 1987/2014 (51.3%, Liquid Art, 115 bottles)

A pleasant design. Colour: straw. Nose: perhaps a higher category, with more precious waxes, some pollen, a mentholy earth, more furniture polish, then rather turpentine and linseed oil. Perhaps a little fresh paint too. You’ve got the feeling that you’re nosing some very old oloroso. With water: balsam and thuja wood, then moss and leaves after the rain. Mouth (neat): firm, mushroomy and earthy at first, then more marmalade-y, with a little chocolate (filled with Grand-Marnier) and these touches of menthol again. Excellent. With water: all goes according to plan. Marmalade, honey, pepper, dried mushrooms, tobacco. Finish: same flavours for quite a long time. The waxes are coming back in the aftertaste. Comments: perfect. The label alone is worth one extra point (of course I’m joking). SGP:551 - 89 points.

Bunnahabhain 15 yo 2001/2017 (48.4%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, cask #11604, 611 bottles)

Whoops, this is a new one. With this many bottles, it must have been a butt. Colour: gold. Nose: straighter, obviously simpler, more nutty, more brioche-y, and more Mars-bar-y (oh, no, S.!) Then a tad metallic and mossy. Cut grass and very dark chocolate (like minimum 85% cocoa solids). Mouth: raisins and tobacco, earthy tea, cinnamon roll, then a little coffee and a lot of bitter chocolate, with sparks of orange zest. Very good. Finish: long, always with this lovely earthiness. Black tea, chocolate, tobacco, marmalade, cinnamon cake. Comments: this baby was anything but ridiculous after the older ones. Well done! Good butt, probably second fill. SGP:551 - 87 points.

Back to the 1970s…

Bunnahabhain 35 yo 1973/2011 (49.4%, La Maison du Whisky, Artist, sherry butt, cask #12153, 426 bottles)

Colour: deep gold. Nose: it’s a 1973 but we’re rather in the 1960s, and the Auld Acquaintance isn’t very far away. Lilies, strawberry jam, honeydew, dried figs, a wee wood smoke, a little seaweed in a corner, then more dried fruits, orange jam, a drop of old Sauternes (and botrytis!), raisins, zwetschke/damson plums, and some mild pipe tobacco. Plus a little camphor and eucalyptus. What’s not in there? Mouth: amazing jams with a light oakiness and many soft spices. In a way, it’s a little winey (pinot noir?) but that works extremely well. Crème de cassis, marmalade, cherry jam, figs, blueberry pie, a wee feeling of clay and slate… I especially love this dried figs. I’m a sucker for figs. Finish: sadly, everythinh has one end. Ja, nur die Wurst hat zwei. Comments: close to some brilliant sister casks that Signatory Vintage have also issued. I’ve been hesitant a few years ago, I was silly. SGP:661 - 92 points.

I have to go, more old Bunnies later…

(You were right, Tom!)

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