Bunnahabhain 12 Year Cask Strength – 2023

A real treat – stands out on its own from the 2022 CS

DISTILLERY	Bunnahabhain
REGION	Isle of Islay, Scotland
AGE	12 Year
STRENGTH	60.1% ABV (120.2 Proof)
MASHBILL	100% Malted Barley
MSRP	$95

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GLANCE

Clear with medium intensity. Golden with polished wood hue

NOSE

Pronounced and clean. Stewed fruits, salted cashews, pecans and there is a sweet earthy aroma. As it continues to open up, I got aromas of cooked strawberry, cinnamon and nutmeg spice with star anise. There are notes of light pepper, caramelized peaches, sweet oak and tobacco.

PALATE

Mouth-filling with pronounced intensity and coats the mouth well. Light pear, cooked strawberry and cherry, caramel, vanilla, shortbread cookies, pecans and salted cashews. There was a hint of bitter notes of like gas station coffee? I found it to be creamier in the middle of the palate. Here the proof really hits you. The heat prickles your tongue and gives an unpleasant feeling but it dissipates fairly quickly to leave the palate with some nice reminisce of the aforementioned flavors.

FINISH

Long and complex. Tobacco, oak, vanilla, pecan, nutmeg, caramel with light pepper.

CLOSING REMARKS

I suppose as made popular with the barrel proof releases of bourbon, the single malts cask strengths from Scotland now growing in popularity is a welcomed trend. Bunnahabhain first released their 12 year cask strength release in 2021. The 2022 was a fan favorite and received very well. This garnered greater interest and hype for the 2023 release. I unfortunately don’t have the 2022 release to do a side by side but I did had a chance to try a sample last year. I recall it being delicious and the sherry influence was beautifully showcased along with an abundant of other flavors.

We don’t have information on the cask makeup, but the 2023 felt less sherry influence driven and has more spice + heat. It could be that the 2023 was aged in not a first fill sherry cask and has a significant influence from a bourbon cask as well. Though the 2022 might be the crowd favorite compared to the 2023, I welcome the batch variations because after-all the same old will get old real fast if you are on the hunt for new flavors and profiles. Playing around the with barrels allows us to see the Bunnahabhain distillate from multiple angles. Only knock is the alcohol heat on the palate gives you a bit of a curve ball and slightly interjects with the flavors you are experiencing. Aside from that, this is a great dram. Pick this bad boy up. Cheers!

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