A day later than usual, here is the month’s second booze review. Following last week’s Strathisla 30 it is both another single malt review and another review of an older whisky. This time it’s a Bunnahabhain bottled by Whisky Doris, a 33 year old distilled in 1980 and bottled in 2013. I’ve previously reviewed a 31 yo Bunnahabhain distilled in 1980 (that one was also bottled by Whisky Doris) and a 34 yo Bunnahabhain distilled in 1980 (that one was bottled by Whisky Fair). I liked both of those but neither got me very excited. Will this one break that streak? Hopefully, it will in a positive direction. Let’s see how it goes.

Bunnahabhain 33, 1980 (45.6%; Whisky Doris; sherry butt #92; from my own bottle)

Nose: Honey, brown butter, wood glue, dried leaves, some oak extract. On the second sniff it’s quite reminiscent of some tonics I did not enjoy being forced to drink as a child—not objectionable in this case though! As it sits the organic notes recede and some toffee emerges. A few drops of water pull out more of the oak extract.

Palate: Comes in as indicated by the nose but with some sweet fruit mixed in (apricot). A much bigger bite than the abv would indicate; decent texture. Somewhat rum-like on subsequent sips (in fact, I’m put in mind of a new’ish Indian rum I tasted in Delhi a couple of nights ago). With time the sweet fruit moves somewhere between apricot and cherry and the bitterness emerges earlier—apricot pits or am I being suggestible? More oak here too with water and it gets too bitter for my liking.

Finish: Long. The oak expands here but does not upset the balance. The oak gets a touch more bitter with time but it frames the rest nicely. As on the nose and palate with water.

Comments: This is a case where it’s the oak itself rather than the previous contents of the cask that has the most to say. Which is to say, this is not a heavily sherried whisky in the way that you might expect it to be after 33 years in the cask. Indeed, blind I’m not sure I would have picked it as a sherry cask if not for that toffee note. I’ll be interested to see how the bottle develops as it stays open but as of now I’m planning to drink the rest of it neat.

Rating: 87 points.