Bunnahabhain XXV 25 yo

 

 

 

46,3°

Distillery : Bunnahabhain - Islay

Bourbon and Sherry Casks 

Original Bottling 

Core Range 

Single Malt

Launched in 2011

Unchillfilteref, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

There are two versions of the Bunnahabhain XXV. The first was launched in 2005 and is 43°, while the second dates from 2011 and is 46.3°. Both give pride of place to the influence of bourbon casks, which is a little unusual for Bunnahabhain.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Heady fruits, crushed blackberries, very ripe apricots, fresh figs. A trickle of icing sugar, a slightly chalky iodine. Then the fruits return, peaches, mangoes, a shade of charcoal. Mint leaf, vinous hints. The fruits are almost fermented. Sumptuous balance. Quite malty on the palate, damp wood, spices, ginger, chives, cardamom, liquid honey, candied melon, a pinch of salt, plums, damsons, muscat grapes. Very long finish, earth and melting chocolate, hazelnuts, sultanas, turmeric, paprika, cola seeds, mandarin. Neverending. Popcorn petals.

 

In Short, 

The combination of bourbon and sherry casks is really well done, with both tension and balance. The whole is monstrous, but the finish in particular is brilliant. A must if you've won the Euromillion.

Score : 91

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          Jim Hall - Concierto de Aranjuez

Compass Box Flaming Heart 6th Edition

 

 

 

48,9°

Distillery : Caol Ila, Clynelish, Deanston, Teaninich, Benrinnes, Allt-à-Bhainne, Glen Ord, Dailuaine - Islay, Highlands and Speyside

Refill Sherry Butt, French Oak Casks, Bourbon Hogsheads and Refill American Barrels

Independent Bottling 

By Compass Box 

Limited Edition 

Blended Malt 

Bottled in 2018

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured 

Peated around 20 ppm

The Flaming Heart was first produced in 2006 by John Glaser himself. It is a blend of Islay peat and Highland character, aged partly in French wine casks. It was an immediate success. Twelve years later, the sixth edition introduced a few sherry casks into an increasingly complex blend. A total of 15850 copies were produced.

Let's Taste It : 

Vanilla milk, coconut, mountain honey. The peat is resolutely behind, slightly smoky, with a few fishes. Iodine. Lime drizzle, sweet potatoes. Thick humidity, like before a storm. Then the fruits return, certainly the influence of the sherry casks, juicy pear, cranberries, melon, mashed banana, pomegranate seeds.
The palate is pearly, as fruity as ever, but more citrusy, with tangerines, lemon and a hint of grapefruit. Full-bodied spices, pepper, cardamom. Pear. The finish is a bit charcoaled, slightly aggressive and quite long, surfing on a slight acidity to plunge into orchard fruits and marshmallow. Light caramel, tamarind juice, waterlogged wood.

In Short, 

I'm slightly disappointed. Admittedly, it's very good, but I was expecting more from what I'd read here and there. It's not that peaty, and the blend seems too complex to be coherent. Lastly, it's too expensive for what it is, in my humble opinion.

Score : 88

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                           Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird

Bunnahabhain An Cladach

 

 

 

50°

Distillery : Bunnahabhain - Islay 

Sherry Casks 

Original Bottling 

Travel Retail Edition

Single Malt 

Launched in 2018

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Almost Unpeated

 

 

 

There are three different Bunnahabhain bottlings for the travel trade, Eirigh Na Greine, Cruach Mhòna, and the latest release, An Cladach, which has the merit of being the least unpronounceable. Aged entirely in sherry casks, it is also presented as a limited edition, although the number of bottles produced is not mentioned. Bottling took place in 2017, but it seems that the item didn't go on sale until the following year.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

A wisp of charred smoke. Then a fairly heavy, thick sherry. Morello cherries, dark chocolate. A hint of astringent peat. Behind, red fruits, blackberries, muscat grapes, but it's light. Ripe peach. Dried fruits, waxed wood, leather. On the palate, chocolate pear, metallic flavour and more red fruits, but it's a little sickening. Cherry and blackcurrant. The spices rise slowly. Sparkling finish, charcoal, earth and peanuts, almonds, oat. Not very long. 

 

In Short, 

I'm not very enthusiastic. The sherry is not expressive enough, I didn't smell the salty iodine typical of the distillery, the whole lacks identity and character. What's more, it's quite young on the palate. I wouldn't recommend buying it, Bunnahabhain does better in all areas, but it's better than a lot of the stuff I've tasted, I have to admit.

Score : 83

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

   

                                          Ahmad Jamal - Autumn Leaves

Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair

 

 

 

46,3°

Distillery : Bunnahabhain - Islay

1st and 2nd Fill Sherry Casks

Original Bottling 

Core Range 

Single Malt 

Launched in 2017

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Almost Unpeated

 

 

 

Kirstie McCallum, Bunnahabhain's Master Blender, made this whisky. The aim was to produce a NAS that was truly dominated by sherry. Naturally, when it was released, the tiny whisky world strongly criticised this newcomer, fearing that it would replace the legendary 12-year-old. This has still not happened, four years later.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Wisps of charcoal smioke at first, then the sherry rises. Fruitier, fatter and sweeter than the 12yo. The iodine is barely present, however. Apple compote, cinnamon, quince jam. Fresh walnuts. Pumpkin soup. Mentholated hints. Suave. Cherry liqueur. The palate is also fruitier and fresher. But the spices are present, pepper, cardamom, nutmeg. The finish is sparkling and pleasant, with cola, caramel and pear. Nougat. Quite long, not too aggressive.

 

In Short, 

We were wrong to pick on this poor bottling; it's good, fruity and harmonious. It may lack a little originality, but given the price, it's worth buying. The 12yo, on the other hand, is far superior, and it would be foolish to stop producing it.

Score : 86 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Ron Sexsmith - Glow In The Dark Stars

Caol Ila 2013 Provenance Special Selection 5 yo

 

 

 

46°

Distillery : Caol Ila - Islay

Refill Bourbon Barrel

Independent Bottling 

By Douglas Laing & Co. 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2018

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Peated around 35 ppm 

 

 

 

At Douglas Laing's, the Provenance range brings together Scottish single casks of a relatively young age, around ten years. This is an early Caol Ila, just five years old, aged in one Bourbon cask and limited to 475 bottles.

Let's Taste It : 

I immediately recognise the profile of the young Caol Ila, very maritime, very salty, intense. It's the tide, the iodine whips across the face, the oysters and shellfish are there, the seaweed and mud too. Steep cliffs. Very mineral, very seaside. On the palate, coarse salt, some white fruits, vanilla. Boutargue, periwinkles, whelks. I don't get too much of a sense of youth, it's quite full-bodied, but slightly metallic. Very long finish, on vanilla and peppermint.

 

In Short,

It's a really nice experience to taste this specimen, which is a little reminiscent of Moch, but even more intense. However, the price does not match the product, in a word it's too expensive.

Score : 86

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                           The Handsome Family - Far From Any Road

Old Pulteney 2004 Single Cask La Maison du Whisky Exclusive 15 yo

 

 

 

50,2°

Distillery : Pulteney - Highlands

1st Fill Sherry Butt

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2019

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

This Single Cask is distributed exclusively by La Maison du Whisky as part of The Little Big Book Series. 726 copies were made from a first-fill Sherry cask.

Let's Taste It : 

On the nose, candied vanilla mingles with sherry and white grape, leather, caramel, salty iodine, sea spray, yellow plum, disorder and harmony. The tide, white sand, a light salt crust, oily sunshine. Suave on the palate, coconut milk, lavender honey, orchard fruits, yellow apple, pear, pepper and cardamom, perfectly balanced. Very long finish, sparkling fruit juice, lemon and walnut aftertaste. White sand, herbaceous hints, aniseed and rosemary.

In Short, 

It's very good, fruity and iodised as it should be, with a very nice balance. However, the sherry is rather light on this cask, so I would have preferred to taste cask 128, reserved for The Whisky Exchange, which was 62.1°. In any case, the whole thing is too expensive for what it is, and I think it should be reserved for hardcore fans, of which I am not.

Score : 89

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           The Heavy Horses - Anyone can Tell

Port Charlotte 2007 CC : 01 8 yo

 

 

 

57,8°

Distillery : Bruichladdich - Islay

Eau de Vie from the Western Cognac Region Quercus Robur French Oak Casks

Original Bottling

Travel Retail Edition 

Single Malt

Bottled in 2016

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 40 ppm 

Jim Mc Ewan first became interested in Cognac casks in the 2000s. In 2007, he filled some of them with Port Charlotte, and the following year, he put Octomore for the 10 year old 3rd edition. The Port Charlotte became this CC: 01, for Cognac Casks.

Let's Taste It : 

On the first nose, honey, icing sugar, mint and toasted wheat germs. The peat rises, thick and heavy, accompanied by fresh, iodised vanilla. The strength of the alcohol brings out some leafy scents, honeysuckle, laurel, without hiding the vanilla. Some spices, thyme, rosemary, a certain roughness. Limestone, plastic. All this with the deliciousness of a knob of apricot jam. Genoise. A lemon zest. On the palate, it's suave, fruity, citrusy, grapefruit, lemon pulp, then the spices come in, quite strong. White pepper, cardamom, chilli. Long, fleshy finish that gently permeates the mouth. Banana, orange syrup. Prawn fritters.

 

In Short, 

As always, a superb bottling, quite original this time, both sweet and well peated. Value for money remains decent, but the bottle is now very hard to find, sold out everywhere.

Score : 90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

                                           Wishbone Ash - The King Will Come