Bunnahabhain 2007 Port Pipe 13 Year Old / 55.9%

Bunnahabhain 2007 Port Pipe 13 Year Old / 55.9%

Tasted neat, and with a little bottled mineral water

This thirteen year old Bunnahabhain was laid into a port pipe in 2007 and bottled in 2020, 13 years old. It is one of the distillery-exclusive hand-filled from cask #101 in warehouse #9. The distillery says:

Hidden away in our coastal warehouse number 9, this whisky has been quietly maturing in Port Pipe. Usually tasted as part of our warehouse 9 tasting experience, we are delighted to share this hand filled distillery exclusive whisky with you. Cloves, coriander and black pepper appear first, followed by stewed berries, dark fruits, roasted walnuts, aniseed and menthol. A really interesting dram which is not to be missed!

• Color: burnt umber (1.7)
• Nose: burned sugar, coffee, varnish, port wine, blackberries, and strawberry jam
• Taste: very sweet, bubblegum, chalk, dark chocolate, dried orange slice, butyric acid
• Finish: long, bitter; wormwood and burned oak

Something went wrong here, this one of the most unpleasant Bunnahabhain I’ve tried. Adding water to it makes it worse, all of the negative sensorium are still there, only now diluted. I’m guessing that the wood was a bit older/re-fill and less active.

Rating: 3/10