DigitalArc
Bunnahabhain 18 Year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
October 6, 2020 (edited November 6, 2022)
Thar be a tale on a pirate ship in sail, of a cabin boy's wish to be a seaman prevail. 'Welp!' the captain said to thee, 'yer nar but a sea gull amongst the albatross. If seaman you wish to be, then a bottle of Bunny 18 for me!'
Thus my quest began, with regular Google searches for months on end. Nowhere in the 50 states, was there a reasonable deal to had. Until one day, a store in Jersey City appeared on the map. One week and 2,800 miles later, tin and all, the bottle was delivered - quite handsome, none too tall.
N: Aromas of butterscotch and brown sugar, alluringly balanced and nested in a sherry envelope. Peck away at the glass, and you're rewarded with hints of cherries and even citrus, emerging from the oak.
P: The progression in the palate is best captured by @cascode as, "It arrives dry and spicy" with the sweet notes later providing "equilibrium". (His review here provides the best flavor profile and helped guide my palate experience.) Supple, long-aged sherry, toffee, sweet tobacco and fruitcake with an intense mouthfeel. (This is almost a quote verbatim.) After successive tipples, the palate further unveils oranges, chocolate milk, and a chewy nuttiness.
F: Surprisingly long finish of dried red and citrus fruits. The texture is a tad leathery, but that is a welcome addition - proof that this is a mature expression and worth every sip. The finish just lingers on and on.
What a journey! Not too dynamic - the bandwidth of contrasts is narrower than say the Ardbeg Oogie or Lag 16 - but everything in the palate works well together to offer a scotch that is sweetly complex and delightful. Indeed, I'm eagerly awaiting further development as it oxidizes with time.
After the first dram, I stood up and shook my fist at the bottle, and to paraphrase @Soba45, I exclaimed, 'I know who you are, Bunny 18! You are here to destroy my liver!'
140.0
USD
per
Bottle
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@DigitalArc Excellent review, one of my favorite Islay malts!
@Anthology In this review, a number of big boys weigh in on their favorite 18s: https://distiller.com/tastes/841768
@Anthology 😂 All the same, in return, I'd probably deliver you to some of the more experienced reviewers here.
@DigitalArc My competitive instinct is cajoling me towards the path of taking on a challenge...to curate for you, a list of worthy $100(ish) 18yr olds NOT named “Glen...xxx” that will make you go Oliver Twist. I’m mildly confident that such a list exists...especially if IBs are included. I’m not so confident of my willingness to go through the necessary sludge of frogs/toads to find princesses/princes
@Jan-Case the Cruach Mhona sounds like a solid one two punch. A peated Bunny in a 1-litre bottle and a 2-digit price tag to tickle @Anthology (and mine) thrifty sense. @DigitalArc Careful, your classical education is showing through :-)
@DigitalArc if you can’t, try the Ceobanach - that one was really good too. ( https://distiller.com/spirits/bunnahabhain-ceobanach )
@Jan-Case Thanks for the tip, and enjoy! Now, if I can only find a bottle of Cruach Mhona in America.
@DigitalArc I have a bottle of the Cruach Mhona. So far the best peated Bunna I had. Most of the other ones I had weren’t as good but that had been very early in my peat-journey. I am planning on collecting another Bunna peated-only sample collection sometimes soon to give them another go. I hear the Feis Ile releases are good but those hard to come by.
@Anthology For that price, I think one would be limited to the Glen 18s and JW 18. While they do very little to offend, they also don't make much of a ripple in the pond. @Jan-Case A peated Bunny 18 sounds delicious! I haven't tried any of the peated NAS releases, but looks like you've reviewed at least 7-8 Bunnys here. I trust your palate on this.
@CKarmios καληνυχτα!
@DigitalArc you mentioning the Uigeadail (which is one of my favorites as well) made me wonder what a (real) peated 18y Bunnahabhain would be like. They have fantastic peated expressions. But those are comparably recent - so I am really thinking there is a good chance of that happening sometimes in the future. Up until this point this 18y (which supposedly is lightly peated) remains one of the best age statement whiskies you can buy.
I know some of the established distilleries think they deserve it but I feel like anything over $100 for an 18yr is pushing it. It really has to be exceptional for me to go above this threshold for 18s. That’s on principle alone! Sounds like this Bunna 18 approaches exception consideration...?
Har! Har! Prometheus says hi...
Nice review :-). This is definitely one that needs time open. I started at 4 and got up to 4.5 after several months of the bottle being open
Haha, an enjoyable read as usual!