Whisky : Bunnahabhain 12 Year

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 46.4%

Cask : Ex-Sherry, Ex-Bourbon

Age : 12 Years

Nose : Fruity and herbal.  Notes of dried summer grass, hay, polished wood, and maritime salt emerged first.  The dram became fruitier with time as dried figs, dates, and apricots appeared.

Palate :  Medium bodied with a simple profile of dried fruits and subtle hints of nuts and salt.  Sweet and mild dried figs and dates came to mind right away while juicier canned pears developed with time.  Mild nuttiness of roasted almost and cashews, mild maritime salt, and a slight old rubber tire note.    Herbal notes appeared at the end with dried hay, tobacco, and clover honey.

Finish :  Medium to short, with notes of herbal honey.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Figment the Magical Dragon

Notes :  A pleasant and enjoyable entry level malt from Bunnahabhain that was included in the 2021 Fèis at Home tasting kit.  This was better than I remember from previous encounters and I am glad I had a chance to try it again. Even the peat monster I am married to enjoyed the glass, though she did pick up more rubber notes on the palate than I did.

While the flavors were simple, they were also approachable and certainly different enough from all the other entry level Islay drams to be interesting.  I am not a huge sherry nerd and this had just the right amount of sherry influence to deliver a gentle fruity forward profile which allowed some of the grassier-maritime aspects of the malt to appear toward the end.  I did not remember this being quite so sherry forward in the past, so perhaps this speaks to improved cask management, a greater amount of sherry finished or matured whisky in the vatting, or my tastes have simply changed.

Overall, an enjoyable entry level malt.  The perfect Islay for people who do not enjoy the heavily peated profile often associated with the island’s distilleries.

Image Credit : The Whisky Exchange