Bunnahabhain 12 year old - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 46.3%

I will not go into the details of the distillery as I usually do because I have covered that in my "My favourite 18 year old whiskies" article. Feel free to click the link and check out that review also, you can find a brief history about Bunnahabhain distillery there.

"Our Bunnahabhain 12 year Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky was the beginning of our Bunnahabhain core range, launched to fanfare and praise alike. Non-chill filtered and natural colour, taste the origins of Bunnahabhain with an alluring balance of sweet fruit, nuts, vanilla and a delicate coastal influence."

Haven't had this bottle for quite a while but thanks to Black Friday I was able to pick up a few bottles for 34 euros each. Stellar deal. Still love this whisky. It's amazing. - 2022 Black Friday

Nose: Fresh and sweet right away. Very welcoming. Heavy sherry influence which I don't mind because the DNA of the distillery still shines through. Coastal notes. Walking on the coast of Islay, fresh ocean air breezing through your hair. Salty air and water with a hint of seaweed. Plums, figs, cherries and sultanas.

Taste: Soft, subtle. Plums, figs loads of cherries and very nutty. A little sweetness, malty, juicy. Coastal elements, salt and seaweed.

Finish: Sherried, mochaccino, balanced salty tang.

This is definitely one of my highest rated and most loved whiskies of all time. This just tastes amazing, smells amazing and priced amazingly. I do hope this will keep it's quality and the ok-ish price in today's crazy market. 94 / 100

Caisteal Chamuis 12 year old - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 46%

Camus Castle (also known as Knock Castle) was once a strategically important fortress that helped Clan Macleod to strengthen its position over the Sleat Peninsula on the Isle of Skye. The first walls of the castle were built in the 13th century on the site of an Iron Age fort called Dun Thorabhaig...

The smoky single malts that make up the 12-year-old edition of Caisteal Chamuis were made one by one in the Scottish islands. First, they were aged in first-fill and refill American oak casks, and after the blending, they were finished in Oloroso sherry casks. This second aging gave the whiskey a pleasant softness that balances the peat smoke well.

Nose: Medicinal smoke rises, iodine and maritime notes. Once you get over the pleasant smoke the fun begins. Very fruity, apricots and apples. I am picking up a distant grape note which I find very nice. Red berries and some dark fruits following with menthol. How complex.

Taste: As they say, this is extremely smooth and velvety. Iodine and sea salt & brine. Some herbal elements showing through and then the fruitiness arrives. A cavalcade of fresh and dark fruits with a hint of dark chocolate. Some bitter orange and menthol to balance the sweetness. Very pleasant and full, complex.

Finish: Long, the smoke and peaty notes remain with a growing dryness and fruitiness.

Overall I like this a lot. I am not a peathed but this fits my liking a lot. A very surprisingly good and complex Blended Malt Scotch Whisky. 91 / 100

Glenmorangie 12 year old Lasanta - Colored, Non-chill filtered, 43%

Glenmorangie distillery is a distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland, that produces single malt Scotch whisky. The distillery is owned by The Glenmorangie Company Ltd (a subsidiary of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), whose main product is the range of Glenmorangie single malt whisky. Glenmorangie is categorised as a Highland distillery and boasts the tallest stills in Scotland. It is available in Original, 18-, and 25-year-old bottlings, special cask bottlings, cask finishes, extra matured bottlings, and a range of special edition bottlings.

Glenmorangie's water source is the Tarlogie Springs, situated in the Tarlogie Hills above the distillery. Barley grain is supplied by Highland Grain Ltd, a co-operative of farmers in the area. The stills used, the tallest in Scotland at 26 ft 3 in (8.00 m) tall, with 16-foot-10.25-inch (5.1372 m) necks, are claimed by the company to produce an extremely light taste. The distillation process was for decades undertaken by a staff of 16, known as The Sixteen Men of Tain, who worked year round, with the exceptions of Christmas and periods of maintenance. Expansion of production since 2008 has led to a larger staff of 24, who are now referred to on bottles and in promotional leaflets just as The Men of Tain.

"In every corner of the world, the setting of the sun is magical, mused Dr Bill, our Director of Whisky Creation and an inveterate traveller.

This whisky is Dr Bill's attempt to bottle the magic of sunset, with its endless horizon of reds, oranges and purples.

The Lasanta begins with our giraffe-high stills, which yield a deliciously delicate and fruity spirit. Next, we mature it in bourbon and sherry casks for 12 years, transforming it into a mouth-watering odyssey bursting with rich spiciness and sun-drenched sweetness."

Nose: A slightly sweet nose right away with dry notes. Dried fruits and caramelized oranges. Cinnamon follows with melted dark chocolate hazelnuts and notes of vanilla. I would like to think that due to the rather dry nose it used more Oloroso than PX casks. Whatever be the case I love the nose. Not too complicated nor too complex.

Taste: The arrival is creamy and rather sweet. Getting Belgian dark chocolate with cinnamon and different Christmas spices. That's followed by some oak and some tannins with a pinch of pepper. Then melted dark chocolate with notes of coconut and walnuts. Overall the liquid is quite oily and balanced. I like it.

Finish: Chocolate with cinnamon and walnuts. A hint of vanilla and cocoa. The end gets sweet and quite dry. Oak notes.

This is a great balanced drink. I am sad that I have skipped it for so long. For it's price this is an excellent bottle. I urge you to try it. 90 / 100 

Powers 12 year old Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey - Natural Color (?), Non-chill filtered, 46%

"The Powers John's Lane Distillery was renowned for its Pot Still Irish whiskeys, bursting with flavour and character and made famous by one of Ireland's most popular brands, Powers Gold Label.

This first expression of a Powers Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey is entitled John's Lane Release and celebrates the origin of the Powers whiskey tradition by providing a glimpse of the whiskey style that made Powers famous.

Using a Pot Still distillate which is true to the original style of John's Lane, the whiskey has been matured for at least 12 years, mainly in first fill American bourbon casks with a small contribution of distillate which has been matured in Oloroso sherry butts. The result is a Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey of outstanding flavour and complexity, which provides a perfect tribute to the spiritual home of one of Ireland's most loved whiskeys."

Nose: Typical pot still character with that husky graininess and creamy, almost pureed-seeming fruits: banana, grape, apricot, even some tropical-fruit notes like passion fruit and guava. Sweet, christmas cake, milk, lollipops, oak, green apples, vanilla. Lovely. 

Taste: Pretty rough for its 12 years actually, but that's great about it. Orchard fruits, candy, baking spices, vanilla, some oak in the back, pot still spicyness.

Finish: Rather bitter / grainy, actually, with noticeable alcoholic heat. Long, lingering, spicy, vanilla, oak, christmas spices.

Overall this is a very interesting whisky. It feels a bit young but I like it this way. I think this is a pot still whiskey you should try. 87 / 100

Royal Brackla 12 year old - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 46%

Royal Brackla distillery is a Highland Scotch whisky distillery on the Cawdor Estate, near Nairn in Scotland. The distillery is operated by John Dewar & Sons Ltd for Bacardi. 

The Brackla distillery was built in 1812 by Captain William Fraser of Brackla House on the estate of Cawdor Castle. In 1833 Brackla Distillery became the first whisky distillery to be granted a royal warrant by King William IV. Royal Brackla is one of three distilleries to bear the name 'Royal', the others being the active distillery Royal Lochnagar and the demolished distillery Glenury Royal. Queen Victoria renewed Brackla's royal warrant in 1838. 

This distillery closed so many times due to various reasons. Let's see why and when.

• Due to restrictions on the use of barley for distilling during the Second World War a majority of Scotch Whisky distilleries closed, including the Royal Brackla Distillery from 1943 until 1945. An airfield was built beside the distillery in 1940, to provide a landing ground for operational training and air gunnery.
• 1964 saw the distillery close its doors again until 1966, this was due to major reconstruction and re-planning.
• The Royal Brackla Distillery closed again in 1985. The casks of whisky remained on site in the warehouses where they continued to mature and be used for blending, as required by the owners. The distillery reopened in 1991. 

In 2019, Bacardi relaunched Royal Brackla single malts, consisting of Royal Brackla 12 Years Old finished in Oloroso sherry casks, Royal Brackla 18 Years Old finished in Palo Cortado Sherry casks and Royal Brackla 21 Years Old finished in Oloroso, Palo Cortado and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. 

"A fabulous 12 year old single malt from Royal Brackla! Bottled at 46% ABV, this whisky was finished in Oloroso sherry casks imparting a fantastically fruity, spiced depth of flavour. Royal Brackla was the first distillery to be granted the 'royal' warrant by King William IV back in 1833!" 

Nose: Bright and fruity,pepper, spice. Oloroso sherry maturation; prunes, plums, cherries all pull into place, with a malty back story.

Taste: The palate is drier than the nose, but the sherry influence is not hidden for long. There is that often used "Christmas cake" feeling as you sip. Silky creaminess of a chocolate that you've allowed to melt in your mouth; it coats and leaves a sweetness. A long experience of melting sweetness balanced out with oak and a nutty coffee toward the end.

Finish: Long and sweet. Dry sherry and lots of fruit.

This is very nice. Complex, tasty and lovely. I think this bottle turned out quite well. Sadly it's a bit hard to get ahold of here in Hungary but when I can, I will again. 87 / 100

Tamdhu 12 year old - Natural Color, Non-chill filtered, 43%

Tamdhu distillery is a single malt Scotch Speyside whisky distillery, located in the village of Knockando in Banffshire, Scotland. Tamdhu comes from Gaelic for "little dark hill".

The distillery was founded in 1896 by a group of assemblers, wishing to engage in the production of their own whisky. The first malt whisky was distilled and casked in 1897. It quickly passed on into the hands of Highland Distillers. The history of the distillery was fairly quiet, without changing owners, but still marked by a long dormancy between 1927 and 1947.  

It was announced that as of April 2010, the Tamdhu Distillery, belonging to the Highland Distillers subsidiary of the Edrington Group, was being closed and the plant shuttered. It was then sold to Ian MacLeod Distillers in June 2011, who recommenced production of single malt in May 2013. 

The Tamdhu whisky is almost completely used for the production of blended whiskies, such as The Famous Grouse, J & B and Cutty Sark. Under current owners, Ian MacLeod, Tamdhu's bottlings include a 12,15,18 year-old, 100% sherry-matured cigar malt bottling and a non-age-statement (NAS) 100% sherry matured "Batch Strength".

"Pour yourself a dram of our 12-year-old expression and you'll appreciate why we mature our spirit entirely in the finest sherry oak casks.

The luxury box reveals the stylish bottle, allowing the natural amber spirit to shine from within. You'll taste the intense richness on the palate and enjoy the deep, long finish it delivers.

So sit back and savour." 

People say this is the whisky that should go "versus" the Macallan 12 Double Oak. Now let's see if this is true and how this compares to that.

Pricewise I paid 42€ for this bottle while the Macallan 12 Double Oak is currently going for about 50-55€ here so clearly a win there.

43% vs. 40% abv. I often say that some whiskies work with lower abv. and that is true for the Macallan but definitely heads up for releasing this one at a bit higher %. Natural color both of them and (!) the Tamdhu is actually Non-chill filtered while the Macallan is. Now to the interesting part…

Nose: Immediately reminiscent of Glengoyne and Glenfarclas. Refill sherry cask notes, light fruityness, red apples, dates, figs and a touch of cinnamon. At the very back some vanilla coming through and oakiness.

Taste: Whoooaw. Silky smooth and round. Fruitcake with vanilla pudding and cinamon. Then some spiciness arrives in the form of the oak and a cavalcade of dark fruits such as raisins, figs and caramelized apple with a hint of mint.

Finish: Medium to long. Leaves a lovely aftertaste with vanilla cinnamon and oak notes.

So as far as comparing it to the Macallan Double Oak goes I can only say after the tasting is that this one is a worthy adversary. It delivers a great value for your money and it will put a smile on your face. Now it doesn't mean I think this one is the better whisky. I really couldn't say. Both of them are pioneers for me in the 12 YO category and I will have both on my shelves even though the Macallan didn't make this list now. As far as value goes I think this packs a bit more for the price you can get it. But both whiskies are wonderful and you should try them both. 87 / 100

Follow me on Instagram for more pictures and stories, and to get notified of my new articles, content there as soon as possible. HERE.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. To many more. Sláinte.