Bunnahabhain 1989 26 Year Cask Strength Collection (Signatory)

Taste better than it smells. Lightly peated. Nice in mouth

Tasted from bottle No. 58 of 428, from casks 5794 & 5796. Nose: Somewhat remote, floral and fruity notes (apple, pear, light citrus), sherry and a little smoke. Palate: The arrival is honeyed oak, where sweet fruity flavours combine with oak tannins in equal measure. A rich and well-integrated mouthfeel, sweet nuts and a charcoal flavour. The texture is very good, just little oily, creamy but with a touch of brightness. Finish: Long, with a caramel flavour lingering into the finale and a little tannin. This is an elegant whisky in the sunset years of its life. If it had been left for one year more it probably would have collapsed and become dull and lifeless but fortunately it is still a hearty dram. The palate is very fine and the finish long and elegant, but the nose is just a little lacking. It’s a pleasant whisky with that certain elusive quality of “maturity” that you know when you taste it, but which defies description. However I would have liked to have tasted it 5 years ago when the profile would have been a little larger (and it would no doubt have been more reasonably priced). Tasted at The Oak Barrel 22 May 2017 “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)