Distillery/Brand: Bunnahabhain | Region: Islay | ABV: 46.3% | Color: Old Sauternes
Nose: 24 | Taste: 23 | Finish: 23 | Balance: 23 | Rating: 93
Review
Bunnahabhain represent the lighter side of peat on Islay. That’s because the distilleries water is piped down from streams on the Margdale Hills and is considered less peaty than most water used for distilling on Islay.
Bunnahabhain also hold the distinction of being one of the few distilleries founded in the ‘whisky boom’ of the 1920s and to still be around today.
I’ve had a few Bunnas in my time (the 12, 18, Darch Ur, Toiteach and now the 25) and find that they carry a similar thread in both the nose and palate. Must be those consistently good sherry casks they employ.
This 25-year-old release runs to just 400 bottles and comes presented in an Alder wooden box lined with Hessian and closed with solid brass fittings.
Nose: Robust sherry. Quite dry on the nose. Chocolate fudge. Moist dates. Sandalwood. Dark honey. Nice oak. Wisp of smoke. Salty Nuts. An absolutely gorgeous nose that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Palate: Medium bodied. Orange fudge. Ginger. Cinnamon. Butterscotch toffees. The oak dries a touch mid-palate. Nougat. And the moist dates are back. I expected it to be a lot more creamier, though.
Finish: Satisfyingly long. Cinnamon. Chocolate.
There’s a lovely maturity to this spirit and the flavors work seamlessly together. Add to this the great presentation box and you almost don’t mind shelling out 200GBP for it.
Rating: 93
The Malt Activist 
some, umm… errr… “comments” from the wonderfully irreverent whisky sponge blog in a post following diageo’s latest annual special release line-up
(http://whiskysponge.com/2014/09/16/2014-special-releases-spawn-dangerously-chronic-indifference/)
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>>> “Apparently there is some kind of special releases out again. I am sure they are tasting quite wonderful and looking like excellent bottles but unfortunately I must this year continue to once again eat food so I will not be buying any bottles. Except of course the Lagavulin and Caol Ila obviously.”
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>>> “There was a time when the Special Releases were like the viagra to the metaphorical penis of my whisky opinions. Once a year they would become swollen and engorged with delight, anticipation and thrill. Now I’m just struggling to nurse a semi.”
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>>> “I’ve no doubt that the whiskies are really excellent and it is a shame that I will never be able to afford them or even taste them, except for the Lagavulin and Caol Ila… I’m just going to buy an old bottle of Glendronach 12 year old from the 1980s for £120 on this online auction site and drink it like a big happy pig wallowing in a pile of wonderfully mineral, waxy, distillate-driven, old style, elegant, fruit-laced, full-bodied shit!”
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ha ha ha… then again, i don’t think i’m goyna say no if i’m offered a wee dram of fine & rare 1946 macallan or an ardbeg from the ’70s
: )