ScotchingHard
Bunnahabhain 18 Year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
January 23, 2019 (edited September 29, 2022)
This bottle was opened summer 2018 and finished on 1/16/19
Bunnahabhain OB
18 years old
46.3% ABV
Bottled 2015
Price: 155 USD
First time I tried this, my wife and I were having some Nookta Sound oysters (sweet Pacific oysters) with a flight of 18 year olds from Bunnahabhain, Glendronach, and Macallan. I felt the Bunna won, although the other two were delicious, and I was happy to overpay for a bottle in order to buy local.
It turns out Bunnahabhain (12 and 18) pairs well with food, but isn’t as mindblowing when sipped alone. This 18 is fairly complex, with both sherry and bourbon influences strongly present, but the ordering of arrival is wrong. What I loved about the old Hightland Park line, before the Viking nonsense, is that the whiskies had a bourbon arrival, and then the sherry, before fading into a soft, flowery peat. The story is harmonious. Bunnahabhain 18 gives you a luscious Oloroso greeting with raisins and chocolate, before the bourbon notes of caramel and vanilla take over. Not that the individual notes are bad, but the story is backwards, if you know what I mean. The finish is spicy and woody, and really does spectacular with the right food pairing. Try a dark and salty piece of chocolate… or sweet Pacific oysters. At 120 USD, I would consider buying this again.
Rating (price not a factor): 89 / 100
Purchase satisfaction (price factored): 3 / 5
155.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@ScotchingHard - I like your analysis. I plan to steal it at some point. :)