Location: Scotland/Islay
Distillery: Bunnahabhain
Age: NAS
Cask: Bourbon + Pedro Ximenez octave sherry casks
Strength: 50.8%
Specs: non-chill filtered, natural colour
Price: CAD $140 (2024)
Bottling: Feis Ile 2022

Bunnahabhain for me is a favourite. This was one of, if not the first single malt distillery I really fell in love with. It also happens to have been around Christmas time when I first tried the Bunnahabhain 12 year old, so for me, the memory along with the taste of Bunnahabhain will always remind me of Christmas time. So I often find myself reaching for Bunnahabhain durning the month of December, and it always takes me back to the first time, and just tastes like Christmas.

This bottle was released for Fèis Ìle 2022, and this expression from Bunnahabhain called Abhainn Araig means “Araig River” in Gaelic. This is only the second or third time going bak to this bottle since I opened it and from what I remember it never disappoints. It’s not has sherry forward as the OBs of Bunnahabhain, but it still has that flavour profile. Again, just tastes and feels like Christmas

Nose: The nose was pretty light, not in a bad way but at 50.8% ABV its pretty soft. Still you get enough to keep you interested. That stewed / rotten dark fruits that I get with every Bunnahabhain, dark raisins and plums. Finally some baking spices like nutmeg, anise, and cinnamon. Quite lovely

Palate: A beautiful start to the palate with sultanas, caramel and toffee. More of that stewed fruits some apple and maybe a hint of oak.

Finish: A little spicy drying finish with the sherry and dark stewed fruits are left lingering. This is a medium finish that has just enough to keep you coming back for more.

Well now that it is December and Christmas is fast approaching, I think there will be a few more drams from Bunnahabhain in my future. Maybe even the cask strength 12 year old.