Bunnahabhain 24 1988 (Berry Bothers & Rudd)

Thanks to /u/LetThereBeR0ck for this dram from our last swap (not the most recent one).

I’m on a little bit of a kick. And not really a kick, per say, more so I did two IB drams from the same distillery in a row. So what is that? A mid-life crisis? Jeez, had hoped I’d live past 64, but oh well, let’s go with that.

I’ve been doing a few more drams per week than normal lately. Mostly because I have a bunch of free time at the moment, and am trying to fill my time with writing. Though I should be working on my manuscript. And doing other important-ish stuff. Oh well. This is what I feel like.

Berry Brothers & Rudd are a wine merchant that decided, since they were in the UK, they should do whisky as well. Actually that’s super wrong. They were suppliers to the monarchy since the 17th century, originally as a grocery, and then eventually becoming wine & spirit merchants over time. They shipped wine on the Titanic (which sounds cool now, however at the time was seen as a poor business decision). They originally started the Cutty Sark company, and currently own Glenrothes.

Okay those last two don’t really speak highly. However it’s part of their history. So they gave us this IB of Bunnahabhain 24 1988 (Berry Bothers & Rudd). Aged in a single sherry cask for the full 24 years, let’s see how this tastes, shall we?

Price: N/A in Ontario

Region: Islay

Cask #: 4110

Distilled: 1988

Bottled: 2013

Age: 24 years

Cask Type: Sherry Cask

Abv: 51.3%

Colour: 5YR 4/6

Nose: Peaches, white cherry, smoke, teriyaki, strawberry, red licorice, creme caramel, oak

At first this comes off as fruity, if slightly smokey whisky. However over time it has these candy notes that remind me of something I can’t quite figure out.

At this point the smoke and the candy notes really work well together.

Taste: Red grape, gingerbread, icing, anise, raspberry gelatin, pineapple, smoke, caramel

Yup, I know exactly what I was nosing before: This is a gingerbread house. 100% tastes like one. The sweet, candy like fruit notes, the gingerbread, and the icing.

The smoke throws it all off though. I can taste the gingerbread, and that’s great, however then I get to the smoke and they just don’t work together.

Finish: Apple, strawberry, cola, iodine, mint, orange rind, pepper, Pixie Sticks, smoke

More Gingerbread house, and then some iodine…. Not my thing. And some smoke after awhile. Still not working with the sweets.

Which, don’t get me wrong, this has big flavours of. It’s super complex. And each flavour is up there. It’s just…. not meshing well.

Conclusion: I think that they overpeated this dram.

And this is how I die. Though a paradox in my own soul.

Seriously though, I like this dram and don’t like it. I love the gingerbread house feel. That’s amazing. It’s sweet, and that clicks my button. However at the same time it has this iodine/peat combination from Bunnahabhain that is present and tastes well by itself, yet not in combination with the gingerbread feel.

I don’t know. I’m rating this on quality overall. I’d rate it higher, much higher, if it all meshed well.

84/100

Scotch review #316, Islay review #70, Whisky network review #468