
Bunnahabhain 25 Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Bunnahabhain · Bunnahabhain Distillery
This is patient whisky. Twenty-five years in primarily sherry casks have produced something that feels both generous and restrained — the hallmark of Bunnahabhain's unpeated house style at its most refined. It demonstrates that Islay can whisper as effectively as it roars.
Nose
Rich dried fruit and oloroso sherry notes open into dark chocolate, roasted hazelnut, and subtle coastal salinity. A gentle floral sweetness — rosewater and dried orange peel — lingers underneath.
Palate
Luxuriously textured with layers of honey-coated almonds, dark toffee, and dried apricot. The oak is present but measured, contributing clove spice and leather rather than tannic grip. A hint of maritime minerality threads through the mid-palate.
Finish
Extraordinarily long, with dried fruit, cocoa, and a final whisper of wood smoke. The sherry influence fades slowly, leaving clean malt and warm spice.
- Region
- Islay
- Cask Type
- Ex-Oloroso Sherry Casks
- Peat Level (PPM)
- 1–2 ppm (unpeated)
- Distillation
- Double distilled in copper pot stills
- Maturation
- Predominantly ex-oloroso sherry casks, 25 years minimum
- Chill-Filtered
- Non-chill filtered
Food Pairing
The cocoa and dried fruit richness of the whisky finds a perfect partner in a dense dark chocolate torte finished with flaky sea salt. The salt amplifies the whisky's maritime quality, while the torte echoes its sherry-cask sweetness.
Tucked into Islay's northeastern shore at the mouth of the Margadale River, Bunnahabhain has distilled unpeated spirit since 1881, making it the quiet outlier on an island famous for smoke.
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