Bunny 18

Bought this bottle in Taiwan in June, and by my standards, this has gone very, very quickly. Really good stuff. This is the Bunnahabhain 18 that says "Small Batch Distilled". 

Bunnahabhain 18 (abv 46.3%)

Nose - Toffee and salt. The tasting notes on the bottle are believable, for once. There's a caramel sweetness and butterscotch too. Spices if you sniff deeper, and toasted bread. 

Palate - Honey on bread. Some cinnamon and clove, more butterscotch and toffee. This is very pleasant and coherent. There's...a hint of smoke on this. At the part after you just swallow...so that's between the palate and the finish? Do we need names for that? 

Finish - I got a hint of smoke, and then some woodiness. Honeyed throughout.

Overall - This is not blow your mind out of this world, but a very pleasant sipper that you can drink everyday. At about $180 SGD, it was a steal. But that was Taiwan prices...If you try to find this in Singapore...actually, where can you find this in Singapore?

New whisky in new whisky glasses - Bunnahabhain 24 by Vom Fass

It's been a long while since I talked about the Yamazaki 18, and today's whisky is older, and a little more adventurous - we'll be venturing into small batches by an independent bottler that isn't a major player in the world whisky market, but has a good, solid spirits business going on.

Vom Fass bottles a fair amount of whisky independently, and they source their whiskies from pretty good distilleries - close collaborations with distillers and distilleries gives them access to some pretty good stuff, such as two whiskies hand-selected by the Teeling brothers that are now part of Vom Fass's range of whiskies that they vat and bottle themselves. Much of it is pretty young, but a couple, like this one tonight, are fairly old.

Bunnahabhain 24, bottled by Vom Fass (abv 41%)

The occasion for opening a new, old bottle? Well, the Norlan Whisky glasses have arrived. They received a lot of attention from whisky aficiandos when the project was announced on kickstarter, and it has taken off pretty well. I'm glad to have gotten my hand on a set of two (thanks EP!), and I'm gonna test these new glasses by pouring myself a dram of this Bunnahabhain 24.

First, can I comment on how nicely the whisky sits in the glass? The glass is handcrafted, so it is slightly asymmetrical. But that's alright - we don't want uniform soulless glasses, right? 

Norlan marketed this glass by emphasizing on the double layered glass that gives it an ergonomic grip, yet delivers a good nosing experience. A cross between the old fashioned and the Glencairn glass, basically. The grip is good, and the double layer glass is visually pleasing. I think the glass is hollow between the two layers.

What makes it special are the 4 ridges at the bottom of the glass that are supposed to help with scent delivery when the whisky is swirled, as they disrupt the swirling motion. I think this works - scent delivery was pretty good, though it may not be as good for those whisky tasters who like to look out for the "necklace" or waterline that the whisky leaves on the glass when swirled - the disruption to the swirling leaves a more uneven line.

For more about the glass, go check out http://www.norlanglass.com/

On to the tasting...

Colour - The label says copper, but I think this is closer to gold.

Nose - As advertised, a fruit salad. With vanilla/yogurt/mayonnaise dressing. The fruits...I'm getting kiwis (a little citrusy), mangoes, honey dew, and maybe some grapes. Some hints of charred oak as well. Mm. Yes, the fruit salad dressing is very prominent on this, in a pleasant way.

Palate - Very fruity on entry - mangoes and oranges, and more of that fruit salad dressing. Oak then takes over, with some gentle but present smoke. Light wood-spice. With time, the wood becomes more prominent, and this starts to taste a little like the air in a carpentry, in a nice way. Freshly sawn wood, I think. The texture is very smooth, which is to be expected given its age. Some butterscotch and vanilla, though this is more of an un-intrusive backdrop behind the wood. After sitting in the glass, some salt and oranges too. Good development!

Finish - Lasts on oak, wood spice, something that feels like varnished wood. A little fruit - a slightly tangy mango, perhaps, though you've got to search for it. Slightly salty twang as well.

Overall - Fairly pleased with this old Bunnahabhain. An unpeated Islay that shows what smoke and fruit can do when combined properly together. This is quite big on fruits, but it combines well with wood and spice. My only gripe is that the oak starts to become quite assertive if you hold the whisky on the tongue, but it doesn't over-dominate the rest of the palate. I would have liked more complex explosion of fruits. Nonetheless, good whisky, this. I think it holds a candle to the Bunnahabhain 18 very well, displaying what Bunnahabhain is about. Maybe a slightly higher strength will give it more complexity. A bit wood forward, maybe because of the cask and age, though the spirit's fruity characteristics are still fresh.

About that glass - I think the glass helps with scent delivery, but to be sure, I have to check the Norlan glass using a whisky I'm more familiar with, and perhaps do a direct comparison between the Norlan and the Glencairn using the same whisky in one sitting. That'll be fun. Which whisky will that be...That's an experiment for next time, and hopefully, that'll be soon!

Islay Festival - An independent Bunnahabhain and the Springbank 18

Bunnahabhain 27 years 1987/2014 (bottled for the Auld Alliance, 99 bottles only, 49.1% abv)

Nose: Honey, caramel, heather, light smoke, and a little salty. The mix of honey, caramel and saltiness gives this a bit of a toffee smell

Palate: The toffee continues, and is made more complex by the addition of some light leather (is this the faint trace of an old refill sherry cask?) Some flowers, don't ask me which ones. A little fruity, apples and berries. Pretty good! The honey and caramel are less pronounced, making this a whisky that doesn't quite come across as being sweet. For something that's been around for 27 years, there isn't a strong cask influence - or at least, I'm not detecting too much oak, vanilla, or too strong a sherry cask imprint on the whisky.

Finish: Minerals, and smoke right at the back, like a good Bunnahabhain. Not very long, but this is fairly classy. A bit citrusy too, but as with the flowers, I'm not sure what fruit that is.

Overall: Oh, an Islay that is neither peaty nor medicinal! Hurray! This is pretty good! Not very big, but classy. I like that the wood isn't overt and rude. This one worked out to about $40 a glass at the Auld Alliance. Hmm. Not quite value for money, even though it is pretty good. Thanks JE for your tasting notes as reference! Next up...

Springbank 18 (46% abv)

Nose: Leather and a lot of big, malty notes - a really thick porridge. Salty and slightly peaty too. The coastal characteristics are there, but they're balanced off with some berry fruits and a bit of a citrusy, sour touch that reminds me of yoghurt. After a while, Springbank's minerals pokes through - a bit of...wet rock? Calcium? I'll visit a limestone cave one day and try to nail down this scent.

Palate: Fruit punch on entry - think berry and orange mix. This then turns to salt, and a return of the leather. And big malts again. An oatmeal porridge with salt sprinkled in, like my mum used to have for breakfast. I liked the taste but hated the texture - so having that taste in a whisky is frankly a good compromise. The malt and fruits take a break as some minerals break through - like a siesta, the big flavours take a break to reveal some good, clean mineral water that has flowed over rocks and soil before ending up in this whisky. Some peat, and then pepper.

Finish: black tea and orange peel. This is quite a tannin-ed finish, if there's such a word. But it's not excessively drying, which is good. The oranges, smoke and pepper kept me salivating.

Overall: I've had the Springbank 10, 12 and 15 before this. I think this is more restrained than the other 3. The 10 is clearer and simpler in its delivery, giving a good and straightforward Springbank experience. The 15 was a bit odd, like they could not find the balance between the sherry and boubon casks. The sour notes in the 15 become rather pleasant berry and orange notes in this 18, so that's great. But I wish the 18 had bigger minerality, salinity, waxier and, just more complex. Maybe more years in the casks would impart even more depth. The 18 feels like its on the cusp of greatness - the rawness of the spirit has been tamed, but the cask has not had enough time to enrich it enough. The 12 was great because it was a powerful young Springbank. The 18 does not feel like its old enough yet. Still good, but on the border of greatness looking in.

Perhaps it's a bit sacrilegious to rate a Springbank higher than an Islay during the Islay festival week...but that's what it is. Oops. Sorry.