Bunnahabhain Feis Ile 2022 Abhainn Araig - 50.8%
Distillery notes
Abhainn Araig or ‘Araig River’ in English, is a river located on our beautiful isle of Islay. This feeds in to the Margadale River, the pure spring water source for all of our Bunnahabhain whisky. The Araig water is vital to the production process at the distillery, feeding cooling water for the condensers.
Abhainn Araig is a marriage of Bunnahabhain spirit that has been matured in ex-Bourbon casks and ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry, octave casks, made from the finest specially seasoned European oak.
These highly concentrated Octave casks were hand-selected to push the boundaries of sherry maturation. Not all whiskies stand up to full maturation in sherry casks, let alone specially seasoned octaves. Bunnahabhain, however, really stands up to this challenge.
This special, limited festival whisky is quintessentially 'Bunnahabhain' - unpeated, sherried, bold and complex. Bottled with natural colour, non-chillfiltered and with an abv of 50.8%.
Nose: Chocolate, powdered ginger and cigar box.
Taste: A velvety rich texture , initially creamy milk chocolate then sweet raisins and dried raspberries. As the PX develops balsamic vinegar and honeyed macadamias come through.
Finish: Deep and rich, with dark toffee and a final spicy burst of cinnamon.
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Old gold, forms a thin line which beads before falling as slow, thin legs.
Nose: Caramel, vanilla, dried fruit, brandy snap biscuits and a hint of tobacco leaf.
Palate: Quite closed, notes of caramel toffee and dried fruit. Addition of a few drops of water bring Lyon’s Golden Syrup, honey, Cadburys Caramel Bars and a little nutty oak.
Finish: Slightly drying and spicy. Water reveals more dried fruit and a little treacle toffee, whilst cinnamon and ginger provide warmth.
Summary: If you’re someone who only ever drinks their whisky neat then you’re probably not going to fully appreciate this whisky. Abhainn Araig is one of those single malts which not only responds to a few drops of water, I’d even go as far as saying it needs it.
Straight out of the bottle it’s somewhat closed and reserved, those few drops open it up to reveal a beautifully rich, complex whisky, sweet with luxurious notes of soft caramel and creamy milk chocolate. It’s like a soloist on an acoustic guitar being joined by a full symphony orchestra.
Natural colour, non-chill filtered and priced at £95. For that you will get a great quality whisky to explore and enjoy.
If you would like more information on this whisky, the distillery or any of the other Bunnahabhain whiskies, follow the link to the company website.
Transparency: This sample was part of a 5 dram sample set, purchased from The Spirits Embassy and used for a tasting session with Luke Fenton from Distell, and Ian Logan from Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky Limited. No goods or other incentives were exchanged, offered or requested for this independent review.
