Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 56.4%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Sherry Oloroso
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Burn Stewart Distillery plc.
Average price: € 100.00
Official website: bunnahabhain.com
After the 21yo of 2024, the Cask Strength series that began in 2021 continues the following year, overturning the aging figures by using only ex-oloroso sherry casks in first, second, and third fill (refill).
Released in September 2025, this bottling marks the (possibly) stable return of the 12-year-old in this annual cask strength version.
Tasting Notes
There are few doubts about aging in sherry on the nose, with an abundance of red fruits (plums, raisins, dried dates, blueberries, sour cherries), spices (nutmeg, cinnamon), and nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, praline almonds), marked by a humid and moldy vein that brings to mind the atmospheres of a dunnage. It checks all the obligatory notes, with hints of leather, chocolate, a drop of coffee, sweet licorice, maple syrup, and a slight roughness of wood. The addition of water makes it softer and more enveloping, highlighting the pastry notes. Decisive and energetic but with elegance.
All that energy perceived through the nose seems to dissipate somewhat on the palate, less incisive than I expected, even considering the alcohol strength. A lightness that is not ethereal but less impactful in the aromas, which take up the thread of the sherried evocations with the addition of a rather lively citrus note (blood orange) and a greater spiciness (black pepper, ginger). Nuts are more evident, as is cocoa, and there is a salty hint in the finish. Tannic and dry at the end. Water dulls the tones of the spices and generally further muting the dram, better enjoyed without.
Finale not very long, with red fruits and citrus, spices, nuts, salt, leather, and bitter cocoa.
Review: Generally, in cask strength editions, one looks for or expects a more “muscular” version of the standard one, but in this case, it seems to achieve the opposite effect, with a taste that comes across as almost diluted and opaque compared to a nose that is indeed bold. Pity.
Vote: 84/100