Bunnahabhain ‘Eirigh Na Greine’

Bought: World of Whisky, 28^th June 2018

Ratings:
81.94/100 – Whiskybase (average from 20 member votes)
5/5 – Master of Malt (average from 5 member votes)

I do love a 1000ml bottle of whisky, especially if it contains good uisce beatha. You’ll often read online that Travel Retail used to do more 1 litre bottles but there are still some to be had and new ones being introduced. The ‘Eirigh Na Greine’ (meaning ‘Morning Sky’) by Bunnahabhain first appeared in airports in 2014 as a ‘limited edition’ and has only ever been available as 1 litre. The distillery say it’s been exclusively matured in French red wine casks, which makes it interesting. Just to be awkward Master of Malt say “a portion of this single malt was matured in red wine casks” and Whiskybase says “Italian & French red wine casks”. Confused? Personally I’ll stick with what Bunnahabhain say as they make the stuff.

Nearly 82/100 on Whiskybase is a very respectable mark, although the standard 12yo scores over 85/100. You get the impression that Bunnahabhain fans don’t like the distillery profile being messed around with. Comments online include “very well balanced, beautiful presence”, “lovely rich and complex nose, wine-cask dominated palate and a pleasant finish”, “smooth as silk” and “if you like Bunnahabhain, this one is a must try to take your senses to new places and evolve your knowledge of this fine distillery”.

What Master of Malt have to say:

Nose: Toasted sugar, vanilla, raspberries and a little honey.
Palate: Apricot, sea salt, black pepper, more wine cask-influence berry sweetness.
Finish: Smoky and quite long. A little bit spicy, too.

Here’s Horst Luening of Whisky.com with his thoughts about the ‘Eirigh Na Greine’ on YouTube (August 2015):

Bunnahabhain ‘Small Batch Distilled’ 12-year-old (2017-)

Bought: Waitrose, 10^th November 2017

Ratings:
85.5/100 – Whisky Bible 2014
85.76/100 – Whiskybase (from 44 member votes)

In 2017 Bunnahabhain decided it was time to update their packaging. Waitrose reduced the new 12yo to under £30 (as they often do) so I picked up a bottle. Not that I took much convincing because this is one of my favourite single malts regardless of price. Bunnahabhain clearly know what the market wants and the 12yo ticks all the boxes with good potency (46.3%), no chill filtration, natural colour, bags of flavour, great value (even at full price) and an age statement!

The use of the new term ‘Small Batch Distilled’ on the packaging got me wondering if the 12yo had changed in flavour but apparently it’s the same old 12yo inside the bottle. The use of ‘Small Batch’ is a vague term that stems from American whiskey production. Perhaps Bunnahabhain got the idea from their Islay neighbour Bowmore who released a NAS (non-age statement) in 2014 called ‘Small Batch’. It refers to small-scale production but there is no requirement to define what ‘small’ actually means. Small compared to what? In fact it’s so meaningless I’ve wasted too many words on it already! 🙂 Moving on….

One thing that’s clear from online reviews is that Bunna fans love this new release, even if it’s just the packaging that’s changed (although there will be subtle differences from batch to batch). Scoring nearly 86/100 on Whiskybase is a fantastic score with previous years tending to score in the range of 84-85/100. Comments online include “nice all man’s friend that is dangerously quaffable”, “fantastic complex whisky that compares with the very best”, “this is a wonderful whisky, rich sherry, oak, salty notes, and light hints of cherry” and “the best 12yr aged malt on the market”.

Tasting notes from ‘Master of Malt’:

Nose: Fresh, sweet. Seaweed, malt.
Palate: Soft, supple. Sherry, nutty. A little sweetness, malty, juicy sultana. Slightly coastal.
Finish: Sherried, mochaccino, herbal, balanced salty tang.

Here is Horst and Ben Luening with their thoughts about the new Bunna 12yo on YouTube (Jan 2018):

Bunnahabhain 9-year-old (SMWS 10.93)

Bought: SMWS, 6^th May 2016

Ratings:
88/100 – Whiskybase (from 1 member vote)

Those who have read my SMWS Review (Scotch Malt Whisky Society) wont be surprised to hear that this Bunnahabhain will be my last ever SMWS bottle in my collection. Although the majority of what this illustrious independent bottler produce is excellent it was their customer service that let them down and I allowed my membership to expire last year. Nevertheless the opportunity to get a cask-strength Bunnahabhain was too good to resist, so I purchased 10.93 entitled ‘Sweet but Dangerous’ before leaving the society.

I love the standard 46.3% bottling of the Bunnahabhain 12yo, perhaps a little too much, which is why this 9yo by the SMWS failed to impress me. The distillery’s 12yo is mature, refined, smooth and well crafted. Unfortunately this 9yo has none of those qualities and at 61.8% it was very difficult to tame. Maybe I didn’t get the water right, or perhaps it will improve over time as it sits in an open bottle. It wasn’t bad but I wouldn’t go as far as scoring it 88/100 as one member does on Whiskybase. For me it was more like an 85/100 compared to 90/100 for the standard 12yo.

Here are the tasting notes as provided by the SMWS for the Bunnahabhain ‘Sweet and Dangerous’ 9yo:

“Flavour profile: Peated

The nose took us to a beach bonfire – peat smoke, heather, gorse, salty sea air and moules marinières – but one panellist had his own barbeque in a hospital car-park. With water, we imagined coal-tar, liquorice and teriyaki-glazed ribs, an Islay High Street in winter and Dick Van Dyke’s chimney-sweep cap. The neat palate was enormous – deep smoke, chewy dark toffee, mechanics overalls, a disinfected operating theatre, hints of farmyard and pork and apple sausages roasting on a smoky barbeque. The reduced palate – liquorice and clove confectionery – sweet but dangerous (like Mary Poppins!) – and all enjoyed down-wind of an Islay pagoda.

Drinking tip: At a beach bonfire – or while watching a certain movie.”

Bunnahabhain 23-year-old – Whisky Broker

Bought: Whisky Broker, 4^th February 2016

Ratings:
C – Whiskybase (from 1 member vote)

Why oh why have I taken so long to get another example of Bunnahabhain? When I finally opened the standard distillery 12yo bottle I fell in love. It’s one of my favourite whiskies of all time and a replacement bottle is on my shopping list. The next step up should be the standard 18yo, which Jim Murray scores 93.5/100 in his Whisky Bible 2016, some 8 points ahead of the 12yo (in his opinion). But, if truth be told, my reluctance to get older examples of Bunna was because I read on a forum to beware of certain vintage bottles where dodgy casks were used. That might be the case but you wouldn’t think so from marks given to 20yo+ bottles in the Whisky Bible where the majority score over 90/100. I like whisky forums but they do have a habit of perpetuating old information and I’m sure I’ve been guilty of that myself. I still think of Jura as being inferior whisky, much like I remember the days we all laughed at Skoda cars.

Unfortunately there is only one review of this Bunna 23yo by the Whisky Broker and it doesn’t sound amazing. The Whiskybase member says of the taste “a peppery/vibrant but controlled arrival of a creamy, oily, drying grain with a vibrant bitter-sour liquorice which then heads straight to a super-dry, salty, grassy/heathery barley cul-de-sac. There is however an unexpected and spritely reprise producing a line of [dried] fruity vanilla that carries into the finish. Becomes hard work after a while, the dry astringency becoming heavy work over time. 5cl is more than enough for me.” They summarise with “nose is best, followed by the arrival. The more it goes on, the more it acknowledges its sluggish cask predisposition. Its often more Speyside in style than Islay although that dry saltiness doesn’t betray its terroir.”

Perhaps this 5cl miniature isn’t a fair example of Bunnahabhain over 20-years-old but that’s not to say there aren’t some good examples out there. For now the 18yo is firmly in my sights but there are some tempting NAS offerings available at airports.

Bunnahabhain 12-year-old (since 2010)

Bought – Waitrose, 17th March 2014

Ratings:
85.5/100 – Whisky Bible 2014
91/100 – Ralfy, of www.ralfy.com
Review: – Ralfy – Bunnahabhain 12yo – YouTube

When I bought a miniature of the Bunnahabhain 12yo last year, I wasn’t up to speed with my Bunnahabhain history. What I’d managed to acquire without knowing was a pre-summer 2010 version of the 12yo, bottled at 40%. In March this year Waitrose had a good offer on a full 70cl bottle and I decided to upgrade my miniature. A bit of research and I discovered this was a new version first released in the summer of 2010. Being 46.3%, no added colour and non-chill filtered, I can see why Ralfy gives it a massive 91/100.

As impressed as Ralfy is, Jim Murray (author of the Whisky Bible) is less so. He scored the old 12yo version 84.5/100 and only gives this new version 1 point more. Why, because apparently there was an even better version of the 12yo before (in his opinion), so any new 12yo has a lot to prove. Nevertheless, Jim is very complimentary about this new version saying “lovers of Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut will adore this” and “some outstanding moments”.

Ralfy says in his review (from 2010) that Bunnahabhain is the least peated of the Islay whiskies, and therefore tends to be overlooked. Since I’m a Speyside fan I’ve got a feeling I’m going to really enjoy this 12yo! I’ll have to get some Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut to go with it! 🙂

Bunnahabhain 12-year-old (pre summer 2010)

Bought – Drink Supermarket, 28th July 2013

Ratings:
84.5/100 – Whisky Bible 2009