On the menu today, a 30 year old Bunnahabhain 1978 from the independent bottler The Bottlers. Since I am a big fan of most of the whiskies of Bunnahabhain I was glad to get my hands on this one. So let’s try and taste!
This 30 year old Bunnahabhain has matured in a refill sherry hogshead. It was distilled in 1978 and bottled in 2009 at 53,8%.
Bunnahabhain 1978/2009 tasting notes:
Nose: There is a bit of nail polish remover in the beginning, but that is gone quick. Then you tropical fruit like papaya and passion fruit. Also a very faint smoky smell. With water: Fruity, very fruity. Oranges. Nothing to the extreme though it still enclosed.
Taste: The taste is rough and bitter. Almonds and nothing overly fruity here. There is a slight taste of cannabis and other herbs. I don’t really taste the alcohol and it’s not spicy or prickly. With water: a bit spicier, pepper or chili peppers.
Finish: The finish is slightly dry and has a bit of spiced bisquit flavour (Dutch: speculaas). With water more herbs, maybe coriander and some kind of bitter beer taste.
A nice dram, but I had better ones of Bunnahabhain. It’s a bit high on the price as well.
