Bunnahabhain 8 Gordon & MacPhail The MacPhail’s Collection

Thanks to /u/tishpickle for this sample.

Welcome to my ongoing series, “Bunna-have you any more sir?”, in which I go through my backlog of way, WAY too many Bunnahabhains and review them.

So I’m hunting for a Bunnahabhain that either blows me away or lets me down. It’s the extremes, what with living in North America and the late 2010’s, which I only understand.

Yes, I know there’s a recent one out. I’d love to get my hands on it, however people keep raving about it and I live in a whisky ghetto country, so good luck ever seeing it.

Thus I’m going to stick to another young Bunnahabhain, Bunnahabhain 8 Gordon & MacPhail The MacPhail’s Collection. Not much information on this one, save it’s most likely ex-bourbon, and based on my notes, not peated, not chill filtered, and not coloured.

Also I should note that when I opened this sample, the cap disintegrated in my hand. So while I think it broke when I opened it, there’s a chance that this has been super oxidized, and I may need to re-review it.

Cause I’m honest and shit.

Let’s see how this tastes, shall we?

Price: No longer available

Region: Islay

Abv: 43%

Colour: 5Y 8/8

Nose: Honey, nectarine, caramel, sunflower

Lighter notes. Very floral, somewhat sweet, and a little bit of the nectarine. It’s showing the alcohol content, that’s for certain.

Very light, however some time gives it more of a vegetal aspect. Which is interesting. Kinda.

Taste: Light honey, peach drink, caramel, grassy

Watery mouthfeel. Very watery. It doesn’t taste off, so I’m leaning towards this not being oxidized. More so it’s all light and sweet and grassy.

Like selling lemonade while your mom cut the lawn. Grassy and sweet, because you’re 6 and don’t understand how much sugar should be in it.

Finish: Honey, lemon, caramel, grass, overripe peach

Finish is more sweets and grass, and not like going back to high school days, if you get my drug meaning. The finish has a little bit more going on, however it’s mostly one note.

Conclusion: If you ever needed something to replace Sweet Tea or lemonade or hummingbird feeder juice or the stuff they give you when you’re in diabetic shock, then I have a whisky for you!

Over reached jokes aside, it’s a sweet, one note whisky. I’ve found a skip when it comes to Bunnahabhain. All grass and sweets, nothing really doing much more. This needed to stay in the cask, or be moved to a new one that wasn’t made from sugar maple (that’s a joke too).

60/100

Scotch review #872, Islay review #215, Whisky Network review #1393