Slainte-Mhath
Bunnahabhain 12 Year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
January 22, 2023 (edited May 7, 2023)
Affordable, well-presented and always a reliable choice: if there is such a thing as the perfect gift bottle, Bunnahabhain 12 would be it. Sherry-driven, oily and virtually unpeated, the nose combines orange peel, peaches and shortbread with hazelnuts, treacle and hints of sea breeze. Sweet and sour notes, ginger and bitter wood spices accompany the rich mouthfeel before the taste shifts gears towards spearmint, cocoa and brown sugar. Walnuts, stewed fruits and a touch of mocha fade in the lasting and resinous finish. This malt punches above its weight!
RATING: 4.0/5.0 stars ≙ 87 pts → FIRST-CLASS
43.0
EUR
per
Bottle
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Love this one
@PBMichiganWolverine I'd love to, but it is pretty hard to get, in Norway anyway. The recent batch 2 is mainly available in UK, and my usual sources don't have it.
@Slainte-Mhath have you tried the CS version of this? I just got a bottle, after seeing some really good reviews
Additional comment: I never read my old tasting notes when doing a re-review, so I was impressed how consistent both quality and flavor profile were. If I had to pick three value bottles for 2023, I'd go for Bunnahabhain 12, Ardbeg Wee Beastie and Arran 10. I will review the other two shortly.
Additional information: This review is for new bottle design used since 2017 (red front label with '12'), 2022 batch.
Re-reviewed in 06/2017: I found it very similar to my initial tasting in 2016. Batch consistency is an important issue, and I can say that this Single Malt is as good as it used to be! It's still an old classic and benchmark whisky.
First reviewed in 03/2016 (old green bottle): I instantly liked the flavor profile and quality of this Islay malt. It was among the first 20 whiskies I reviewed, and I rated it 4.0 stars (87 points) at the time. Almost 7 years later, I'm still giving it this score!