Origin: Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 49.4%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: J & A Mitchell & Co Ltd.
Average price: € 1,000.00
Official website: www.cadenhead.scot
On August 1st I turned 50 and, to celebrate this occasion, I treated myself to an important bottle: a Bunnahabhain distilled in my birth year, 1976, and bottled by Cadenhead in 2016, at the venerable age of 39 years, at 49.4%abv.
This is not a single cask but, as indicated by the Small Batch series to which it belongs, a small batch of casks—in this case 3 ex-sherry butts—from which 648 bottles were produced, now practically impossible to find except on the secondary market and at inevitably higher prices.
After several private tastings, I’m sharing my impressions here on the blog.
Tasting Notes
The color is bronze.
Hello Sherry, my old friend… 39 years and proudly showing every one of them. Because already on the nose the various aromas have an extraordinary depth. A long variation on the theme of sherry cask whisky, in which nothing is fleeting or temporary; everything seems designed to endure, to leave its mark, the mark of experience. From the sweetness of caramel, raisins, and dates to a balsamic note reminiscent of pine resin; from a touch of orange peel to a hint of leather. And then there is a double impression: an old library on one side and a dark cellar on the other, with a vagueness of damp earth, like after the rain, and a moving memory of seasoned wood, from an ancient woodshed, which is perhaps the feature most easily associated with this type of cask. Abyssal, but an abyss in which it is a pleasure to sink.
On the palate, the whisky is anything but staid and reveals an unexpected liveliness, with black pepper and chili pepper at the outset tickling the mouth and an overall sweetness that the wood itself (here an impression of dark shelves freshly polished) keeps in check. To the sensory kaleidoscope unveiled on the nose are added an impression of caramelized orange, rum baba, sponge cake soaked in liqueur, and a double chocolate, milk and dark. In the retro-olfactory phase, chinotto plays a leading role, shaping the conclusion of the sip. Indulgent yet restrained: it keeps its figure while not denying itself anything.
The finish is very long, with echoes of caramel and chinotto, and subtle streaks of orange peel and dark chocolate running underneath, while a sprinkle of pepper dries the mouth. It sounds like a declaration of love, a wish that it could last forever.
Review: This isn’t just a hyper-balanced whisky, where everything is in its place like a perfectly ordered room. It’s an exciting journey through time, frozen in its moment of peak brilliance, where you can sense the full difference between the spirit and the casks of that time and those of today. An unmistakable Bunna, destined to etch itself into your memory and, despite the obvious signs of my senescence, among the best sherried and whiskies from this distillery I’ve ever tasted.
Vote: 93/100