Tastes

The nose is really nice - the first nose nothing short of fantastic. It is not really Bunnahabhain as I know it, but so enjoyable. The taste is ok but not as special as the nose and feels almost a bid one-sided. The palate feels really young and missing smoothness and complexity. I guess this NAS base is much younger then 10y. For that it isn’t bad but also nothing out of the ordinary. But the nose really was something else.

I know and like the 10y so I was looking forward to further Springbanks where this one looked like the logical continuation. (I still try to find the 13y @LeeEvolved praises so highly) Nose: smooth and soft, dry summer hay, bitter orange jam, a bid of black tea, plum, sour apple, minor peat (but typical Springbank), after first taste a big chunk of fruity milk chocolate Palate: still smooth and soft but develops a light chili burn after a short while which is very pleasant, smoked coconut flakes, salted caramel, donut, red berries The finish is long and delivers the style you know from the 10y. It remains with a slightly peppery burn and sour sensation. All in all very pleasant when you add some water to bring it below 50 ABV. That doesn’t bring out more flavors but smoothes it out to make it an interesting and enjoyable dram.

Nose: pineapple, honey on buttered toast, ripe green grapes, sweet popcorn, milk chocolate, strawberry Palate: hits with quiet strong alcohol, slightly sweet and fresh but the alcohol burn doesn’t leave much space and what remains on the finish is a light wooden bitterness and a fruity sour grape aroma The nose is intriguing and very enjoyable but the palate doesn’t deliver on that fully. Still a refreshing straight forward and hard hitting dram.

(Tasting of a 25y independently bottled by Douglas Laing at 50.6 ABV) Nose: nutty, lemon, fruit tree blossoms, molasses, a bid of smoke, mixed dried green leave spices, the 50.6 ABV or not very present Palate: slight short chili burn, slightly sweet, walnut (both the nut and the shell), mild woody bitterness This whisky is quiet aggressive and it fells like it can’t decide if it really wants to or not. You get the maturity but it feels a little bid one sided. For what it offers it is complex but it definitely is not a dram for relaxation. It really challenges you. Adding water doesn’t do much for it.

The nose is light and without any peat but much better and inviting that the most of the other NAS I had recently. It gets close to the regular 12y but milder. The signature HP note is barely noticeable. On the palate it is much sweeter and less intense then the usual HP. It is fruity but feels missing a leg. After tasting a faint peat is noticeable on the nose. It is more enjoyable than most of the other NAS I tasted and would put it on par with the 12y but missing the peatyness.

Nose: marshmallow, fresh lemon and orange, black currant, caramelized apple, a little apple cider but still more on the sweet side, oaky base and background Palate: a really good translation of what you get from the nose, fresh, fruity and sweet-sour, nutty (walnut) Finish: still fruity and citrusy, a bid dry, medium long Very enjoyable but somehow I liked the 12 years old better, which was smoother so that the fruitiness was delivered more rounded. All in all it is a nice dram with enough variety and flavor to come back to every so often. I will definitely get the 18y next.

Nose: raisins dipped in light milk chocolate, fresh cut apple, dark non-liquid honey, plum jam, floral and oily oak, bid of vanilla Palate: sweet in the beginning, a slight chili sensation, a good amount of dark chocolate Finish: wood and ongoing dark chocolate, slightly dry I must say I enjoyed this one. It definitely is an interesting dram that has to offer different chapters that stand out from each other. But it definitely doesn’t overwhelm with a lot of variety. This whisky offers just a few aspects but those it does deliver very well and convincing. The only real downside is that it feels too „rocky“ midway through the palate until the end of the finish - rocky in „hard, dry and rough“. I miss some roundness that would bring it together.

Even if I didn’t really like this whisky, I’m still glad I tasted it. It wasn’t a negative experience but also not a positive one as well. The really present and straight forward peat on this one wasn’t for me but I can understand that this might be really enjoyable to others who like peat-heavy whisky. The nose overwhelms you directly with a peat that doesn’t smell burned though. What I got from it was tobacco and raw earthy peat. And it also comes with a very intense waxed leather smell - a bid like when you open a box of new suede boots. A bid chemical almost - and medicinal. The palate is more relaxed first. When you get behind the peat you find some molasses, licorice and also some Marmite first but this quickly gets overshadowed by tobacco ash tastes, that aren’t very pleasant. It tastes like a wet ash tray smells. This bid is what made this whisky fail for me. Everything else was still quite enjoyable but the aggressive ash on the taste which sticks to your tongue for a very long time, just was too much.