Bunnahabhain 8 Year Old Macphail's Collection Gordon & Macphail

Bunnahabhain 10 Year Old Discovery

In their Discovery range Gordon & Macphail offer approachable entry level malts and today I’ll put two of those to the test, both for the Islay distillery of Bunnahabhain. Both are quite young, but one matured on a bourbon cask, while the other slept on a sherry cask. I’ll start with the 10 years old on bourbon. On the nose it is immediately...

Score 86/100

Bunnahabhain 1997 'Barbecue Smoke' Wemyss for The Nectar

Independent Bottler Wemyss has already bottled more than 20 casks of Bunnahabhain. This week I will put no less than 5 of these in a row, starting with this bottling for Belgium selected by The Nectar. This 17 Year Old is named ‘Barbecue Smoke’, which leaves little to the imagination. I think I am in for a treat. The nose is quite umami. Hearty...

Score 85/100

Bunnahabhain AD Rattray 30/1978 #7216

So, this being an old Islay whisky, anything is possible. They can be massively intense, or too old and feeble. You take your chances on disappointment. This dram, however, is still very much a potent buck! You can sense its oilyness even on the nose: pears, pears, ground cinnamon, more pears. Wait, is this a Highland in disguise? For 57% ABV, the...

Score 92/100

Bunnahabhain Eirigh Na Greine

This unpronounceable Bunnahabhain (well, let’s give it a go anyway: ‘ae-ree ne gri-niyouh’) means ‘the morning sky’ in Celtic. It is their newest Travel Retail expression with no age statement which is composed of different vintages and matured on both Italian and French wine casks. The nose is sweet but with a dirty edge. Think sweat. Yes, I...

Score 81/100