The theme for this week is sherry cask whiskies from island distilleries. The week got off to a good start on Monday with a funky, idiosyncratic Tobermory with more than a bit of sulphur mixed in. That was a 17 yo. Today I have for you a review of a Bunnahabhain 12. No, not the official 12 yo but an independent bottling of a single sherry butt. The bottler is A.D. Rattray and the cask was filled in 2009. There’s more than one of these Rattray Bunnahabhain 12s around. Well, there’s at least one more. While Whiskybase does not have an entry for the cask I’m reviewing (900020), they do have one for cask 900037. It was also a sherry butt, and, like this one, it was bottled at a very high strength: 66.7% abv. If you can believe it, cask 900020 had even more alcohol in it at 67.3%. That might make it the highest strength Scottish single malt I’ve ever had. I’m not in general a fan of whiskies being bottled at these crazy strengths but there certainly is a market for that kind of thing—especially in the US, where this seems to have been released (I’m sure it’s all gone by now). Bunnahabhain’s sherry cask spirit has also been known to have a fair bit of sulphur in it—I’m thinking o my last bottle of the OB 12 yo, which furred my mouth a fair bit—though that was a long time ago. Hopefully, this won’t be in that vein. Let’s see.

Bunnahabhain 12, 2009 (67.3%; A.D. Rattray; sherry butt 900020; from a bottle split)

Nose: Not as closed as I expected at the strength: rich, raisiny sherry with some dried leaves and some dried orange peel mixed in; a bit of oak in the background. On the second sniff there’s some cherry and some leather. Continues in this vein. Water opens it up very nicely: the orange peel picks up some polish and some apricot jam emerges to join it along with some fig-balsamic; more leather too now.

Palate: Comes in hot but it’s not completely closed here either with notes as indicated by the nose. Seems even hotter on the second sip somehow. I’ll give this 15 minutes or so in an uncovered glass and if it doesn’t ease up I’ll go straight to water. Well, it does open up a bit but it’s somewhat bitter oak that emerges, along with a bit more of the dried orange peel. With a bit more time, the oak eases up but there’s nothing new in its place. Okay, time for water. Ah yes, syrupy texture now and develops just as on the nose, with rich orange peel, apricot jam, fig-balsamic vinegar.

Finish: Long. At first there’s not much beyond the alcohol burn. A bit of sherry separation as the alcohol eases up. As on the palate with time. With water there’s some added pipe tobacco here.

Comments: Surprisingly decent and drinkable at full strength, just lovely with water. There isn’t a great deal of complexity or depth but it’s also only 12 years old. Not sure how much this went for but at a reasonable price I’d have been happy with a bottle.

Rating: 87 points.