Bunnahabhain 18 Review

Time for a taste of Islay… without the peat. I tend to review (and buy) a lot of Islay whiskies, in part because I’m a fan of peated single malts. But it’s not just the peat that attracts me to the “Queen of the Hebrides”—it’s the fact that so many of the distilleries on the island simply make fantastic whisky. While Islay is known for it’s heavily-peated malts like Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig, there are some malts with substantially less peat to be found, Bunnahabhain in particular.

While Bunnahabhain does make some heavily-peated whisky, their age-stated core range expressions are unpeated. I’ve previously reviewed Bunnahabhain 12 year old, which, in spite of its lack of peat smoke, I consider to be an Islay classic. Today I’m taking a look at the next step up in Bunnahabhain’s range—the 18 year old.

While the 12 year is matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks (with the ex-bourbon likely the majority), the 18 year old is primarily aged in ex-sherry. Actually, Bunnahabhain’s website currently states that it’s exclusively ex-sherry, although I’m not sure if that has always been the case, as I’ve read elsewhere that previous bottlings may have been a combination of cask types.

Bunnahabhain 18 isn’t nearly as common as the 12 year expression, but it’s also not the most rare malt out there. If you want a bottle, you should be able to find one at a whisky specialist with a little bit of hunting. I bought my bottle about a year ago and set it aside for a special occasion. I decided that my birthday last fall was a good enough occasion, and I’ve been slowly savoring this dram ever since.

So how does an 18 year old, unpeated, sherry-matured, Islay malt taste? Let’s take a look!

Bunnahabhain 18 Review

Type: Single Malt Scotch
Region: Islay
ABV: 46.3%
Non chill-filtered
Natural color

Nose

Sweet with dark fruits and sherry oak. Fruit salad loaded with cherries. Rich maltiness. Vanilla icing. Toffee. Spearmint. Pomegranate. Pineapple. Prune juice. Dried cranberries.

Palate

Rich. Plenty of maltiness, with loads of fruit (especially dark fruits), desserts, and candy. Strawberry and banana. Prunes. Plums. Spiced fruit tea. Vanilla pudding. Sweet oak. Crème brûlée. Mint ice cream. Chocolate. Smooth butterscotch. Sea salted caramel. Treacle. Salt water taffy. Jolly Ranchers. Gourmet marshmallows. Walnut. Cinnamon and nutmeg, although not in abundance. A touch of slightly bitter oak. Full and creamy mouthfeel.

Finish

Vanilla cream. Nutty (almonds and walnuts). More fruits, especially plum. A touch of nutmeg. Toffee and treacle. Medium in length, which is a touch disappointing—it’s delicious, but fades faster than I’d like.

Overall

Sweet, fruity, and delicious. I mean, look at those palate notes… it certainly sounds delicious to me. That said,I can’t help but feel like it’s missing something. As delicious as this is, it’s lacking a certain level of balance. It could really stand to have some more savory notes—perhaps more spice, oak, or even a bit of peat smoke would balance this out and make it even more enjoyable. And I also have to say that the finish is a little disappointing, only due to its somewhat shortish length. Still, this is a lively dram full of intrigue, and I am thoroughly enjoying it in spite of its flaws.

Like the 12 year, Bunnahabain 18 is an Islay abnormality—being unpeated—and yet still a quintessential Islay dram. I recommend giving it a try.

SCORE: 89/100
Final Thoughts

This one was a little tough to score, because as I mentioned, there are two flaws holding it back from being great—balance and finish. It’s delicious, don’t get me wrong, but there’s something missing on the palate. The fruit and candy flavors are a little too prevalent compared to the oak and spice. And for a whisky with such an explosion of flavor on the palate (balanced or not), I would have expected the finish to last considerably longer than it does. Instead, the finish, while being lovely for a moment or two, disappears all too quickly. In spite of those flaws, I’m giving this a pretty high score. This is an excellent dram and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the bottle.

No doubt that this is a step up from the Bunnahabhain 12 year old. Much more sherry influence, which results in more fruits and candy. That said, the two aren’t all that different. Tasting them side-by-side, the 18 year is clearly bigger and bolder, with more dark fruits, spices, and oak. Is it worth nearly twice the price? Tough to say, but I’m happy with my purchase.

Buy Again? Yes. This is a fairly expensive bottle (I paid around $130) and is not super easy to find (although certainly not impossible to find), but it’s really quite delicious in spite of its flaws. I hope to buy another bottle at some point.

Drink This Not That: Drink this if you can find it at a reasonable price and are looking for a step up from the Bunnahabhain 12 year old. But if  you’ve never tried the 12 year, I’d start there.

Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.

For more reviews, check out the Whisky Review Archive.

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