Bunnahabhain 17 YO Westering Home - Feis Ile 2014

Bunnahabhain 17 YO Westering Home, 53,4 %

When I visited Islay a couple of weeks ago, I got to visit Bunnahabhain Distillery. Andrew Brown, the Distillery Manager, gave us a nice tour and then we had a few drams. We got to taste both the festival bottlings Bunnahabhain released for the Feis Ile 2014 (Islay Festival). The first of the two was the Bunnahabhain 17 YO Westering Home.

The name ‘Westering Home’ refers to an old traditional Islay song, which tells the story of a mariner travelling back to his beloved Islay. The very nice label on the bottle is designed by Swedish artist Mathilda Holmqvist. She took part in Bunnahabhain's "Tales of the Sea" design competition in 2013.

This whisky has been matured in an ex-cognac cask (possibly Hine cognac), before being finished in a Sauternes dessert wine cask. This is a single cask release, with an outturn of only 301 bottles. It was bottled at 53,4 %, and it was sold at the distillery during the festival for GBP 250.

Nose (22/25): Sweet - sweeter than expected from a Bunnahabhain. A bit dry on the nose. Quite fruity - apples and oranges in particular. A bit of honey can be detected here as well.

Taste (23/25): Ooh, that's nice! Again quite sweet, but the sweetness is now tempered and made richer by spices. White pepper, ginger, cinnamon, chocolate and lots of honey.

Finish (22/25): Steady as she goes. Develops slowly, with more chocolate and some caramel added to the mix. The honey and mild spices stay for the whole run. It has a nice, long finish.

Balance (22/25): A lovely, unpeated Bunnahabhain, especially if you have a sweet tooth.

Score (89/100)

Image from Bunnahabhain Distillery.

Sláinte! - Thomas