Bunnahabhain 12 Year Cask Strength (2023 Edition)

Nose: Dark malt extract, dark fruit cake, lemon peel. Many dark wood tannins. With water it develops lighter wood aromas of sandalwood and camphorwood. Palate: Intense woody and raisin flavours in the arrival together with ginger and pepper notes. Sweeter tastes in the development (sultanas, fruitcake). Water lightens the profile and brings out malty sweetness. The texture is dense and oily, and remains so even with liberal reduction. Finish: Long. Sweet malt and stewed dark fruit. A very good single malt that improves markedly with lots of water and a good long rest in the glass. As I noted in reviews for earlier editions of this whisky it is not simply standard Bunnahabhain 12 year old at higher abv. Tasting the two whiskies side-by-side gives a very clear impression of two things. First, that the casking is very different with the cask-strength expression being more cask-driven and oaky, and secondly that the standard core-range expression is still a very fine dram with a much easier and more chocolatey profile. I've read reviews that claim the standard 12 is poor in comparison and only the cask-strength 12 is "the real deal" but I could not disagree more. Both are fine whiskies, but this is undeniably more complex and has greater impact. Tasted during a storm, on board a topsail schooner anchored in Bunnahabhain Bay, from a bottle bought at the distillery door. It doesn't get much better than that. "Very Good" : 85/100 (4 stars)

Noses raisin, dried strawberry, toffee, walnut, Nutella, pizza crust. The palate is like a dried fruit heavy trail mix, with fruit, nuts, M&Ms, salt. It’s not too hot neat, but I think opens up nicely with a little water. I like this, but I’m not sure that it’s any better than a Batch Strength Tamdhu. The salty note maybe makes it stand out as slightly different. If it’s available in the 85-95 range in your area I’d say give it a whirl, but I wouldn’t pay any more than you can get the Tamdhu. I overpayed a bit for this one because it’s not distributed to my state.

Nose: salted caramel, toffee, overripe berries, nougat. Palate: More salted caramel and toffee, soft pretzel, spicy cinnamon bark, peanut brittle, underripe banana, rum raisin bread pudding. Finish: Long with more of the same dessert notes, chocolate, doughy cinnamon rolls, and underripe banana. Even at cask strength it’s still very drinkable and quite enjoyable. I’m not usually a fan of cask strength sherry bombs, but this one is magnificent. The salty notes help temper the sweetness of the sherry, making this a very well balanced dram.

Wow, Bunnahabhain turned up to 11! deep sherry with notes of raisins and apricots, sweet nose that has wonderful christmas spices throughout. A beautifully complex and powerful dram. Surprisingly smooth for 60%abv, and a palate that is bursting with sweet and spicy flavors that i look forward to getting to know more! Really pleased to be blown away by non peated scotch!

Nose - raisins, toffee, caramel, baking spices. There is a salty note as well. A little briney. Tongue - super sweet, sherry forward, punchy! Super sweet and pretty balance. Very spicy probably due to the high abv! Adding two drops of water brings out peat smokiness even though its not peated! Thoroughly enjoyed the dram!!

The strangest Islay whisky. No smoky, verystrong and high alcohol content.