Price: £35 – 45
ABV: 46.3%
Appearance: This whisky has a golden brown appearance, which to me looks like a proper posh version of Irn Bru.
Aroma: The nose of this dram sits somewhere between buttery pastry, sweet caramelised apples, cinnamon led spice and maritime saltiness.
Taste: Initially there is a light golden syrupy sweetness, which mingles with a floral vanilla and is accompanied by a fruity roundness.
In the middle there are wisps of wood smoke, which pass across and through the palate, tantalising the tastebuds and offsetting the earlier sweetness.
As the dram develops, there is the returning stewed apple flavour that this time is accompanied by a cinnamon spice and treasure chest oak. Again at the end the vanillins are present.
Mouthfeel: Salty, sweet, spicy and wooden.
Overall: Often when people think of Islay (pronounced Eye-la), they think of big brash smokey whisky like Laphroaig and they are put off. Often they have the impression that all Islay whiskies are like that, but Bunnahabhain twelve is a fantastic dram for proving that theory entirely wrong. It still has a discernible level of peat smoke (around 3ppm) within the dram, but it is much lighter and easier going that some of its island neighbours. It is sweet, salty and has a pudding like spicing. This is a dynamic dram, which offers different flavours each time you take a sip. It was one of the first island drams that I fell in love with and in my opinion it is still one of the best value twelve year olds on the market. We would encourage you to pop out and buy a bottle.
Real Dram Factor: 8.6
Source: Bottle Share with a friend.
More Information: https://bunnahabhain.com/our-whisky/12-year-old/
Buy Online: Morrisons Online seems to be the Cheapest or from Amazon Pantry as part of your next box.