2014 June Bunnahabhain

Lady of the Glen’s 26 year old Bunnahabhain will be released in the coming weeks. This will be the first Islay release for Lady of the Glen and I couldn’t be more proud because it hastens us further toward that point where Lady of the Glen will have sold a Whisky from each of Scotland’s Whisky regions. However, regardless of its geographical location this particular Whisky still meets the high quality standards set by each previous release.

First a little bit about the distillery’s history. Bunnahabhain translates from the Gaelic ‘The Mouth of the River’ and it was founded in 1883 on the North of Islay. Built during the 19th Century Whisky boom, there are only around twenty other distilleries in Scotland created during this time which are still active now. Bunnanhabhain is fortunate to be amongst this century old distilleries as it was mothballed it 1999.  It did reopen eventually and now sells it Whisky through various avenues including Independent bottlers and its own release. The water source for distillery is the Margadale River.

Lady of the Glen’s Bunnahabhain was distilled on the 16th November 1987, the same year Thatcher won her third term in the UK, the Simpsons first hit the screens and I was born. On the exact date of distillation it was coincidental that number 1 in the pop charts was T’Pau – China in your Hand. It was aged in a single refill American Bourbon cask, numbered 2470.  It has been bottled at cask strength (50.01% ABV) and there has been no colourings added – this is non-chill filtered as has been every Lady of the Glen. The yield is approximately 205 70cl bottles and as past buyers know each bottle will be individually numbered and presented in bespoke gift bags.

This will be Lady of the Glen’s first release which sells in 70cl, 20cl and 3cl bottles. The tasting notes will appear on the bottle but they are held as follows

Vanilla ice cream and banana sweets on the nose. Velvet smooth and luscious on the mouth with maltiness and the slight hint of smoke at the very end on the palate. With a drop of water more sherbet sweets on the nose and more floral notes while on the palate there are more exotic fruits and melon.

This is not your big peaty whisky or your typical Islay for that matter. This is good for those palates that are perhaps dipping into Islay for the first time or who are perhaps averse to the strong peat associated with Islay.

I found it exceptionally difficult to price this Whisky due to one reason – It’s unique. Although I could price it to similar casks, they are not at cask strength as Lady of the Glen’s is and there is a large difference in price between different distillation dates where the age is almost the same because quality of Whisky must have greatly varied depending on when it was distilled. Independent reviews will assure of you of the quality of this Whisky. I have valued it at £130.00 per 70cl from the website which includes delivery.