Last Friday I went to the Whiskykoning in Den Bosch for a rather special Bunnahabhain tasting. He had been saving for a couple of years for this one. Not money-wise, but bottles. There were 4 (!) Feis Isle bottlings and only two regular ones. Very nice things to try, and at a very sharp price at only € 27,50 for such rare whiskies, I was a happy camper!

The first two drams were the regular, but new, 12 and 18 year old.

Bunnahabhain 12, 46.3%
Cinnamon and fudge with some nuts. Rob, the host and owner of the shop, insisted they were hazelnuts. A little sharpness with leather and a massive amount of sherry. What a difference with the old version. New and improved indeed! The palate was a bit more mellow and more thin with a hint of salt and sherry, with a little wood. A medium and dry finish with a little bit of a burnt wood edge. A tremendous improvement over the old version which is (to say it gently) boring as hell.

Bunnahabhain 18, 46.3%
Christmas cake, with those little confit fruit bits in it. Again, quite some sherry and a bit more wood than the 12 year old. A little bit more crisp too, with a hint of glue (not in a bad way) and anise. Caramel and nuts again. The palate gave a bit of a disappointment since it tasted rather thin compared to the full sherried nose. Not bad, just a bit thin. The finish had raisins, some wood and peaches. Warning: This one doesn’t handle water well. A few drops and it just went flat for about half an hour.

Bunnahabhain 14, Feis Ile 2011, Cognac Cask, 59.6%
A LOT of alcohol on the nose with a rather big hint of cognac. Quite like spirit or cheap grappa. The palate was razor sharp and it took about an hour to lose a little edge. Dry with chili peppers and I had a sensation in my mouth like chewing cork. The finish was again sharp and hard, with a hint of salt. Very much not my cup of tea…

Bunnahabhain 14, Feis Ile 2006, Pedro Ximenez Cask, 52.6%
It starts off with candied orange peels. Sherry with heaps of fruit is next. European oak, but wet with sherry. A touch of glue and salt. The palate is full but not too heavy. Slightly drying with leather. The finish is tremendous, with chocolate and marmalade.

Bunnahabhain 16, Feis Ile 2007, Oloroso Cask, 54%
Although I thought it couldn’t get any better during the evening, here was a little Oloroso baby changing that plan! Leather polish, chocolate and oozing caramel. A fresh fruitiness with sweet citrus, like blood orange. That’s just on the nose. The palate is dry and sweet with cocoa and again orange. The finish gives sherry wood, is incredibly long with a fresher variety of Christmas cake.

Bunnahabhain Moine, Feis Ile 2004, Heavily peated, 59.6%
Due to the sherry theme of the evening I wasn’t really looking forward to spoiling my buzz with a peat bomb. This one came along and I just didn’t feel like it at all. I was wrong in that. It has a bit of a chemical creosote scent to it, but in a good way. Although I didn’t think it was a nutty scent, it did remind me of salted peanuts. Crisp with lavender and heater. Even tomato and singed bell peppers. The palate was very sharp with wood, peat and smoke. Rather simple, but not bad at all, for a +/- 7 year old. The finish is incredibly sharp, but not bad either.

Both the sherry casks were, by far, the best drams of the evening, combating for the top spot. In the end I liked the Oloroso just the littlest bit better than the PX cask. Both are top drams, though. The Cognac cask, although I’m sure there are people for it, was one I really didn’t like one bit, and the 18 let me down on the palate and it couldn’t handle water.

Mmm. That Oloroso cask is just soooo good.