Bunnahabhain 12 Year

Sweet for an Islay. Nominally smoky.

Rich toffee notes at the start. Leads to smoke and salt. A little bit more smoke than I find pleasant, but it’s now awful and I wonder if I’ll grow into it.

Refreshing, medium body, slightly peated, just a bit of pepper tongue

sweeter than I remember

Color: Deep gold. Nose: Some kind of nut, or nutty malt. Something I can’t place but I don’t like, kind of like bad molasses or butterscotch I don’t necessarily want to eat. Sweet, maybe it’s more sherry than I like? There’s a smokiness if you go slowly and can find it. The nose does not have me looking forward to drinking it. Taste: Water certainly wakes it up if you add it. Better than the nose, while I’m not in love with the, my concerns from the nose melt away quickly. It tastes like a somewhat harsh butter made from whatever nuttiness is in the nose. I think the unappealing part is the sherry, it tastes like caramel that is off, and I suspect I need a good amount of peat to enjoy the sweet sherry influence, or sweetness in general. I was able to find a subtle not of rosewater when mentioned I was drinking this and Ralfy mentioned it, but not if it wasn’t on my radar from that. Finish: Middling, reminds me of bourbon, perhaps a bit toward maple.52

Exceptional whisky. I find it to be such a unique flavor that is in my top 5!