Bunnahabhain 1990 North Star, 1988 Wemyss & Port Askaig 28 Reviews

Hi everyone,

We’ve got some whisky from my least favourite Islay distillery today! Yes, of course its Bunna. To be fair, having tasted these now, I’m pretty sure my problem is mainly with the younger stuff and some of the older stuff, because, as these demonstrate, Bunna does age pretty well over a long time.

Bunnahabhain 1990 North Star 51.1%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Great combo of salinity and fresh zippy fruit, lemon citrus, some vanilla, sea salt, quite coastal and a hint of far off smoke, something slightly funky adding complexity, some tropical white grapefruit.

Taste: Amazing mouthfeel strikes first, salty and oily, still fresh, lemon citrus, red apple, black pepper, almost Talisker-like actually and great for it.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Lovely oily chocolate and sea salt, malt, some late smoke here too.

Bottled 2017 at 26yo. Really drinkable and delicious Bunna. There seems to be a bit more smoke and coastality to this and it's right up my street. One of my favourite Bunna’s I’ve ever had.

85/100

 

Port Askaig 28 45.8%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium

Nose: Musky Bunna-like nose, leather and old dusty cupboards, heavy malt, actually reminds me of a Glen Scotia, dark chocolate and very lightly smoky oak

Taste: Lacking power to start, Soft and v chocolatey, honey, big malt and then lots of oak, soft black pepper, dry.

Finish: Long length. Burnt marshmallow, burnt vanilla, a little oak.

A newer one I have a feeling. Went cloudy very quickly. Bit over the hill in my opinion and the marshmallow at the end is a bit odd to find in this type of whisky. This isn’t cheap either at £300.

78/100

 

Bunnahabhain 1988 'Luxury Damson Jam' 46%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Jam indeed! Homemade blueberry and raspberry jam, plus some tired wood, black pepper, orange and red apple, a tiny faded sea salt, floral geranium (reminding me of Bourbon matured Mortlach).

Taste: Sweet, Sherry, raisin and orange, a little flat though with more of the tired wood than the nose, spices with ginger and black pepper, nice red apple note. Shame about the mid-palate.

Finish: Long length. Super chocolatey and malty, lovely dark finish. Leather and tobacco, honey too.

Bottled 2018. Really saved by the finish this, not up to the 1987 I tried. But there seem to be a few of these Wemyss are doing at the moment.

81/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #767-#769

Whisky Network Reviews #912-#914

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Bn7 & Lp9 Elements of Islay Reviews

Hi everyone,

I’m a big fan of Elements of Islay since I first tried some of their stuff at my first ever whisky festival. They had a Laphroaig, Caol Ila and a Bowmore and I was really impressed with the quality.

Fast forward to now and they continue to impress with stellar releases, often putting the vintages, cask info, etc. on Whisky Exchange and their own website, where it can be found pretty easily.

We’ll have two new(er) ones today:

Bunnahabhain Bn7 55.8%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Cherry, cherry and more cherry. Vanilla, cherry lips, cherry sauce, small deserts, chocolate cake with cherry jam, Kirsch, really full on sweet nose. After time it’s like you are taking a big whiff of freshly made Christmas cake!

Taste: Sweet, intensely sweet, cherry, cherry sauce, chocolate pudding, some raisin, plum, clove spice, some of that Bunna harshness in there but its fine, oak and pepper.

Finish: Medium/Long length. A sweet hit, then leather and more drying, dry oak.

16yo from 2x Sherry butts. Lovely, lovely nose but some of that Bunna harshness dragging it down. Also, you need to be a big fan of cherry. Anywho, fans of Bunna will absolutely love this I imagine.

78/100

 

Laphroaig 1998 Lp9 54.3%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Sweet and smoky. Smoked sticky Chinese-style pork chops, the smoke and malt are pretty clear, the Sherry hasn't overwhelmed it, sweet orange, mineral and sea shore notes, melted dark chocolate. Delicious nose.

Taste: Really oily and thick, long arrival, takes its time, orange and cherry and raisin, the smoke and malt, Haribo cola bottles. Really nicely balanced with a gorgeous mouthfeel.

Finish: Medium length. Really oily again, orange and dark chocolate, again delicious.

Absolutely showstopper of a dram. What more is there to say? From a PX Sherry cask and I’m amazed at the great integration of sweet and smoky. IMO this is much better than the Masterpieces that Whisky Exchange did a while back.

88/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #720-#721

Whisky Network Reviews #858-#859

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Bunnahabhain 14 PX & Moine Marsala Reviews

Hi everyone,

Bunna + Sherry amirite?!

In all seriousness, Bunnahabhain seems to work very well with a kick of sweetness to it. And I’m trying to make an effort to get to know my least favourite Islay a little better, because yes, it deserves a bit more love from me.

Bunnahabhain 14 PX finish 54.3%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: A sweet and Earthy one. Sherry, malt, BBQ glaze, fig and plum, plum pudding,

Water: Opens up with water, honey and golden raisin.

Taste: Sweet and juicy, slightly Earthy, plum and fig, raisin, tobacco, sea salt, oily spice, then quite a lot of oak comes through and into the finish.

Water: Softer, very nice balance, fresher with golden raisin, liquorice and fig.

Finish: Long. Quite sharply oaky actually, Euro oak maybe?, black raisin too and that thick PX hit.

2003-2017. 2nd fill Sherry then 3 year finishing in PX. I more than like this, it’s great but the next one blew it away.

81/100

 

Bunnahabhain Moine Marsala 56.6%

Colour: Light Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Classically Bunna but with this BBQ meaty note, sweet, cherry, smoke, malt, black pepper.

Taste: Soft but with powerful smoke, meaty BBQ, cherry, dry smoke. A really nice balance of the sweet, meaty and smoky here.

Finish: Long length. Lovely, smoke and sweetness, powerful and balanced. Great finish.

2004-2017, 4 year finish. Distillery exclusive. Great, great Bunna. In fact, the third best I’ve tasted. If you’re a fan, this one you need to try.

86/100

Distillery: Bunnahabhain

Average Score: 76.5

Distillery Ranking: 25th/ 61 places

Up/Down: 31>25 (Up 6)

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #619-#620

Whisky Network Reviews #737-#738

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Bunnahabhain 1987 Wemyss 'The Viceroy's Elixir' Review

Hi everyone,

Choo! Choo! Here comes the hype train!

Lots of folks reviewing this one at the moment, and even more giving it a big ol’ thumbs up so I knew to keep an eye out for it.

I’ve been a big fan of Wemyss bottlings, although I’ve only tried a few. The casks are sourced and selected by Charlie MacLean, the monocle wearing whisky encyclopaedia. And to be honest, I don’t think the prices are too bad either, even if most of the stuff is at 46%.

This dram was thanks to the kind people of Maltstock.

 

Bunnahabhain 1987 Wemyss Vicroy's Elixir 46%

Colour: Dark Amber

Body: Full

Nose: What a CASK! Beautiful Sherry, so dark and rich, fig, prune, date, raisin, thick, Christmas pudding, orange, leather, dark chocolate. Complex. Dry oak underneath. Nutty with marzipan, raspberry and black pepper.

Taste: Sweet and full, then recedes, layers and layers of sweetness and complex oak, fig and prune, dry old oak, dunnage and leather, orange, oily, building this nice black pepper. Quite a dry development.

Finish: Long length. Mouthwatering, lots of oak, dry, black pepper really comes through nicely.

A tad too dry but bloody good! The joint best Bunna I’ve tried, the other being the 45yo Port Askaig.

87/100

Distillery: Bunnahabhain

Average Score: 75.3

Distillery Ranking: 32nd

Up/Down: 35th> 32nd (Up 3)

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #603

Whisky Network Review #715

Network Average: 74.6

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Ma2 Elements of Islay Review (Peated Bunna)

Hi everyone,

More whisky today, again from Elements of Islay. Who have been building a solid reputation for good casks.

The mysterious codes are always fun to try and work out too. From the obvious Lp to the more difficult ones like this. Ma stands for Margadale, which is not a distillery but a style of whisky from a distillery. It also happens to be the name of the river that Bunnahabhain uses for it’s water source.

 

Ma² Elements of Islay 55.2%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Subdued Bunna peat, some tropical fruit, lots of banana, greenish oak, wet leaves, sea salt, samphire.

Taste: Soft arrival then big, really intense, very peaty, mineral, salty, medicinal, cough sweets, some orange, very oily and quite spicy with white pepper.

Finish: Medium length. Mineral notes stay, with some white pepper tingling.

A 13yo peated Bunnahabhain. For some reason me and Bunnahabhain don’t seem to get along too well. This is very good whisky, but I’d be expecting more from a heavily peated Islay malt at this age. It’s that spiciness that’s holding it back, just a little harsh.

76/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #542

Whisky Network Review #637

Network Average: 74.6

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Port Askaig 45 Review

Hi everyone,

I am a very fortunate human being.

I have tasted quite a few whiskies. Quite a few of those quite a few being from Islay. The oldest of those being a 33 year old Port Ellen.

Never have I tasted anything close to this old from Islay. And am never likely to again. Where has it come from though? 45 years this has sat in a few casks and there aren’t many distilleries with those kinds of stocks left. Especially that they would be selling to Speciality Drinks as part of their Port Askaig range, instead of plonking it in a fancy decanter and getting a few grand a bottle.

The answer comes from the other distillery near Port Askaig. The one that doesn’t produce peated whisky. Ah, I don’t think its too much of a secret. Its Bunnahabhain.

 

Port Askaig 45 40.8%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Another world. Crazy complex. Musty, grape, black liquorice, orange, slightly tropical, mango, orange peel, dusty warehouse, leather, tobacco, earthy, complex nuttiness, not so much oak actually, more secondary flavours, candied lime and lemon peel, nutmeg, chocolate, slightly singed heather.

Taste: Soft, lacking power, oak, lots of it, orange, nut, heather then darker chocolate, leather, earthy with complex spices behind. Keeps developing and going on and on. Nutmeg, quite a dry experience, 90% dark chocolate, some ginger, a little splintered dry oak, cigar box, orange marmalade and tobacco.

Finish: Medium length. Complex is the name of the game here too, waves of leathery, earthy, mustiness, cocoa powder. But again, lacking power.

1968 Bunnahabhain from 5 Sherry butts that were married together for the last year. Mega complex whisky. But oh, what would this have been like at 38?! It’s just been left a little too long in those barrels. Lost a bit too much of the strength. What an experience to get to try this though. And despite the weakness, there is so much here to discover. Great, great old whisky.

87/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #538

Whisky Network Review #633

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

[Scotland Stag] How Could I MacFail to Buy Something: G&M Shop

Hi everyone,

Next up after Aberlour was a drive up to Elgin to check out Gordon & MacPhail’s shop, and we did try to get to Benromach but we were too late in the end.

If you are in the area, I would really suggest trying to get to the G&M shop because it’s awesome, they’ve got a great selection and they don’t mind letting you taste whatever is open at the time.

I was looking for something to buy, as I hadn’t bought anything on the trip so far.

Mannochmore 1994 Gordon & MacPhail Exclusive 48.6%

Colour: Dark Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Really sweet and Sherried, cherry and sweet orange, nutty and spicy too.

Taste: Soft, cherry, intense sweetness builds slowly, nutty, dry, the oak comes in with spice. Quite spicy into the finish.

Finish: Medium length. Soft, sweet and Sherried.

From a Sherry Hogshead, bottled 2016. A very nice one, but the Sherry has really taken over.

80/100

Bunnahabhain 2009 Gordon & MacPhail Cask Strength 60.5%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: A nutty and Sherried Bunna, lots of cherry too.

Taste: Intense, sherry and spicy black pepper, dry oak and sweet orange.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Spicy and sweet with chewy dry raisin.

A nice one, especially if you’re a fan of Bunna but I think I’d pick the 12yo over this.

74/100

Ledaig 1999 G&M Connoisseur’s Choice 46%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Buttery and light, very little savoury notes but some smoke and red apple.

Taste: Oily and buttery, a little more smoke on the taste, red apple.

Finish: Medium length. Some spice and oak.

This is a bit vague for Ledaig, I think I would have preferred the 1998, which was from Sherry hogsheads but they didn’t have any to try.

70/100

Ardmore 2002 Gordon & MacPhail Cask Strength 57.5%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Yeah! This is more like it, a big juicy beast of a whisky!

Taste: A good hit of Sherry but character to balance it, raisin and cherry, peppery smoke but not harsh at all.

Finish: Long length. More smoke and spice comes through.

From Sherry Hogsheads. There’s a lovely balance to this with great character, great stuff. I bought a bottle and u/generalbirdy swapped what he had bought for this after trying it. First clue to the epiphany that Ardmore can be incredible.

84/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #395-#398

Whisky Network Reviews #441-#444

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?