I thought I was lucky when I recently found a sample of the legendary Bunnahabhain Auld Acquaintance, but the last couple of weeks other Bunnahabhain from the same period have showed up.

This 43 years old Bunnahabhain 1967 was bottled by The Whisky Agency in a new series called Private Stock.

Bunnahabhain 43 yo 1967 (40,5%, The Whisky Agency Private Stock 2010, sherry hogshead,
139 btl.)

Nose: the best sherry nose I’ve found in months. Wonderfully balanced, with red fruits, beeswax and whiffs of mocha. Lovely dried apricots and prunes but some tropical fruits as well (guava). Mint. Some cinnamon and a little ginger. Hints of tobacco and sandalwood. I’ve compared this to the Auld Acquaintance and I think this profile is even nicer. Mouth: some banana and almond milk. Papaya. Orange cake. Soon the wood kick in. It’s not overly oaky or but the tannins are certainly obvious. Resulting hints of dark tea. Overall the middle is fairly weak, a bit of extra strength could have lifted this. A little rummy. Finish: never really dry, but slowly fading on oak and soft pepper and mildly sherried orange notes.

A great old Bunnahabhain with a near-perfect nose. The palate is very good even though it can’t hide its respectable age. Around € 210. Recommended but difficult to find.

Score: 92/100