Time for another official bottling you can easily get (easily, that is if you can afford it, right?) in most whisky shops – The Bunnahabhain 25 year old. As you well know most Bunnas are not as peaty as other Islay malts (some younger 1990’s are indeed very peaty), and that’s very right about this one. Bottled at 46.3% abv, and NCF , without artificial coloring. The profile is very much sherry centric, sweet, and rounded. It does come in a posh box as some people would expect from 25 year old whiskies, but I am not impressed. Rather have the whisky cost 30 quid cheaper and not invest in wooden cases –That’s my take. Now off to sample the whisky…
Bunnahabhain 25 yo , 46,3% , £194 
Nose : A lot of sweet sherry up front. Loads of sherry, then some soot and heaps of dried fruit. Sultana,dates and prunes. Hints of rubber old wood and vinegar, as well as ripe orange / tangerine , as well as leather. It’s a bit sweeter than I had anticipated, not sure about how balanced it is, but it feels well rounded, and there’s not much oak at all if that is something that bothers you in old(er) whiskies (not that 25 is THAT old).
Palate: Sweet sherry with light peat and smoke. Marinated meat and rubber. Lots of dried fruit too – mainly prunes and raisin.A few hints of rubber and sulfur too. quite creamy.
Finish: Sweet sherry. Smoke. Soot. Drying. Wood.
Bottom line:
This is an excellent whisky, very likeable with all that sweet, sherried notes. Makes you want to reach out for another dram, and another one. It’s not the best 25 year old out there, but it’s surely a dram I’d love to return to. very soothing and rewarding. A bit too much sherry IMHO. As for pricing, it’s not cheap at almost 200 quid – there are many other similar quality alternatives. I wouldn’t mind a bottle, though 🙂 If it were a bit more focused, and the sherry was not so prominent (and the wood more prominent), it would score in the mid 90’s. Don’t expect much peat, as this one almost has none, just so you know… (It’s not a bad thing…)