Almost two years ago a whisky friend hosted a blind tasting of one whisky through the Usquebaugh Society. The idea was to taste and analyze the whisky, answer some questions about it and whoever got most answers right won something.

At that time I only found the time to write an email to say I participated, but since we were doing some major reconstruction in our then new house, I didn’t have time to do the tasting. Last week I did…

This one was drawn from an Oloroso sherry cask at 47%.

Nose:
Very nice European oak with furniture polish and some leather. Nothing too much though. These scents are accompanied by dried peaches and maybe some prune. A nice hint of anise. Delicious combinations of all you want in an old whisky!

Taste:
Quite some high quality wood with a hint of salt. The sweetness wins, though. Quite dry with fruit. Thick peach syrup. Very mature, bottled at the right time.

Finish:
The finish becomes, if at all possible, even more beautiful. Overripe fruits with a vary clearly present cask. The flavours of the sweetened sherry wood are very good.

This is one cracking dram! I absolutely love the ‘old style’ flavours it has and it has been quite some time since I tasted something like this. All flavours and scents match perfectly and are interesting enough to leave me wanting more. Lots more!

Bunnahabhain 31yo, 1976, Murray McDavid Mission, Oloroso Sherry Cask, 47%. Available from Weinquelle in Germany for €192.

Nose: 10
Taste: 9
Finish: 10
Overal experience: 10
Price/quality: -1

Total: 38 points