Bunnahabhain 27 Year (1989), Hunter Laing Old & Rare
Whisky: Bunnahabhain 27 Year (1989), Hunter Laing Old & Rare
Country/Region: Scotland/Islay
ABV: 50.8%
Cask: Refill Hogshead
Age: 27 years (Distilled Oct. 1989, Bottled March 2017)
Nose: Austere and mellow with citrus, wood, and subtle layers of dried grass and herbs; apricot and orange with lacquered wood and wood resin; dried grass and heather, hints of white pepper, tobacco, and wispy smoke.
Palate: Medium to light-bodied, oily and vibrant, citrus and gentle maritime salt, dried grass with orange and tangerine, buttery shortbread, more cigar box and old tobacco pipes whose herbal quality lingered through to the finish, slightly metallic at times with salty tide pools and wispy smoke.
Finish: Medium to long with orange, a subtle metallic twang, and hints of a distant grassfire.
Score: 7-8 (86)
Mental Image: Waiting for the Summer Rain
Narrative & Notes: I initially tried this blind, thanks to a friend who hosted a birthday-birth-year whisky tasting with more drams to take home. I did not have a chance to taste this at the event; instead, it was a blind take-home dram I tried a few months later. I thought it must be a twenty-something peated single malt, probably from Islay or an island distillery, and matured in an ex-bourbon cask. I had a vague idea of what whiskies this could be— my initial impression would be Caol Ila, but I do not recall an older Caol Ila on the list of bottles. The only peated one I could remember was Jura, though this was nothing like that. That is all to say; I have no idea, but hopefully, I am in the right region.
It turns out this was a 27-year Bunnahabhain! So I was pretty close, and my notes make a lot more sense now, though I am surprised I picked up a subtle wispy smoke. That must be a trick of the wood and the effect of almost three decades in the cask as some of the coastal and grassy elements of the spirit mellowed and shifted. Beyond that wispy or distant smoke, my notes are not different than the ones Hunter Laing included with the whisky.
I wondered, if I had not tasted this blind the first time, would I have had the same impression? Maybe since it felt essentially the same on subsequent revisits, though with perhaps a bit more dried grass and a heftier herbal character at the end.
Overall, a brilliant, mature Bunnahabhain. I could see myself returning to this repeatedly, probably scoring it even higher by the end of the bottle.
