Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 46.3%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Burn Stewart Distillery plc.
Average price: € 450.00
Official website: bunnahabhain.com
Vote: 84/100
Introduced into the core range in 2005, at a 43%ABV strength, this 25-year-old from Bunnahabhain (haughtily named XXV, which to be nitpicky means twenty-fifth and not twenty-five) was revised in strength in 2016, bringing it up to the 46.3%ABV of the other bottlings, and then two years later arrived at the contemporary version with a more laconic 25yo in the name and an appearance more consistent with the distillery’s modern image.
Today I try the middle version, with unreported maturation but (supposedly) the result of a mix of casks in which the ex-sherry ones are the mainstay, still available at a price as important as the Roman numerals suggest.
Tasting notes
That the ex-sherry casks are dominant is beyond doubt, at least on the nose, with deep and penetrating notes of sultanas, prunes, carobs, sour cherries, blood orange, red fruits (blackberries, blueberries), chestnut honey, fondant, all washed down by balsamic vinegar with a generous sprinkling of nutmeg and cinnamon. I suspect it is oloroso and PX casks so much is the olfactory decadence, with a background of leather and tobacco and a hint of undergrowth, with moss and spotted leaves. If there are any ex-bourbon casks, there is no trace of them left.
On the palate it is spicy, with chilli and a hint of ginger lingering briefly on the tip of the tongue while on the rest all the sherried soul of the whisky still flows, less dark than on the nose but still very charged and oily, albeit with peaks of balsamic freshness that make it appear younger than its quarter century. The red fruits are more pressing, with accentuated vinosity, accompanied by spices and the roughness of leather, with a decisive background of nuts (hazelnuts, roasted peanuts), orange juice, coffee and rather strong vegetal notes, where the wood is quite present, especially in length.
Quite long and tannic finish of red fruits, spices, vegetable notes and cocoa.
The impression is that of a whole sherry ageing, decidedly unbalanced and excessive, lacking the depth and elegance you would expect from such mature ageing.