Our Bunnahabhain 12 year Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky was the beginning of our Bunnahabhain core range, launched to fanfare and praise alike. Non-chill filtered and natural colour, taste the origins of Bunnahabhain with an alluring balance of sweet fruit, nuts, vanilla and a delicate coastal influence.
Description
As the original member of our current Core Range, Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old holds a special place in our hearts. First launched in 1979, the Bunnahabhain 12 year old has endured almost 40 years, thanks to the passion and dedication of our distillery team, not to mention the love and support from our fans and friends around the world.
Our 12 Year Old has set the tone and the benchmark for the rest of the range – only the best will do. Double Matured in Ex Bourbon and Ex Sherry Casks, this whisky is beautifully rich and full-bodied, achieving the perfect balance of the characteristic nutty and sherry flavours of Bunnahabhain.
Tasting Notes
Colour
Russet gold
Nose
Fresh and aromatic, fruity floral with hints of dried fruit.
Palate
Light with fruit notes, nutty flavours with a sweetness and slight hints of vanilla and caramel.
Finish
Long and lingering, rich, full-bodied and a hint of sea salt.
Thanks to Lee at Budget Drams for also sending me a sample of this whisky. For the review we opened a 30ml Drinks by the Dram sample.
We are reviewing a whisky from Islay. Usually when Islay Whisky is mentioned, most peoples first thoughts are of a heavily peated or smokey whisky, maybe notes of TCP or heavy ash on the nose and palate. However, the Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old doesn't fit with the common notion of an Islay Style. It is a lighly peated style of whisky, how peated is lightly peated? a quick dig around of the internet we find that it has a peat level of approximately 0.5 to 2.0 PPM (Parts per million). This is the smoky element left on the malt as a result of burning peat (in the drying process). As a comparision Laphroaig 10 Year Old is believed to have a level of around 40 PPM.
This Bunnahabhain was increased to 46.3% ABV in recent years, an alcohol strength that the distillery has chosen for their core range. At this strength we find that the 12 year old hasn't had chill filtration, which is means a more natural nose and taste. It has been left as natural colour which is good news for those who are alergic to E150 caramel, YES there are people who suffer from this condition. For an average price, the Bunnahabhain 12 Year old retails for £42.70, however, this bottle can be often found reduced in price, shop around, you will hopefully come across a reduced price offer. For its value score, Bunnahabhain 12 gets 96.77 out of 100 representing a great value whisky.
Matured in a combination of Ex-Bourbon and Ex-Sherry, on the nose; the first thing to note is it's incredibly fruity, its a clean and crisp nose, very fragrant with some floral notes. It is a combination of freshly picked fruits with some morning dew. There is melon, maybe honeydew melon, pears, stewed apricot and a tiny bit of cherry. We couldn't detect any smoke at all on the nose. This has a fantastic nose.
On the palate; it is malty, citrus fruity with light vanilla oak from the bourbon cask. There is a little cream and a delicate fruit cake note with some juicy sultana popping up.
With some water, marzipan or maybe almond essence shows together with a stronger fruit cake note. It has a great level of sweetness to it, goldilocks would like this. On the palate the oils are released and the result is more cherry and vanilla. Some caramel appears. It has a balanced richness to it, each element is allowed to showcase itself and to be enjoyed. The addition of water allows the alcohol nip to calm slightly and allow the whisky to be sipped slowly.
If I was to give someone who is a non whisky drinker, a quintissential example of a scotch whisky, the Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old would be it. It is the most whisky like whisky that we have experienced. It is a benchmark whisky, a standard that other whiskies should be measured against. We don't think this whisky has put a foot wrong.
All things considered we score it 90 out of 100. If the price was a below £40 as standard then we would be happy to give this some more points. It shouldn't have suprised us how much we enjoyed this whisky, but it did. This whisky needs to be sipped from a whisky nosing glass, be it a Glencairn, a Copita, a sniffer or any other similarly shaped glass. And if you see it on offer then buy a bottle.