A little non-sponsored advert to start off this review. A few of us have taken Ian Shapiro's free online course Power and Politics in Today's World. You can find the lectures and syllabus on Yale's YouTube page. It covers the years 1989 at the end of the Cold War until 2019 of shifts in global political landscape and power dynamics, what narratives hold sway, and how different countries approached similar problems. Paths not taken. We take lots of these free courses and this one has really stood out as particularly relevant in understanding where we are today and how we might be able to move forward. You may or may not agree with some of Professor Shapiro's viewpoints, but either way they will leave you with a stronger grounding in where humanity stands politically and how the globe sways from one consensus to the next.
And now the star of the show: Bunnahabhain 12. 46.3%. Aged in ex-bourbon then ex-sherry. Non-peated Islay.
We sniff around:
Scott got a dark chocolate out of the bottle that was nice but can't find it in the Glencairn.
Simon and Trevor are going back and forth on a cherry maple syrup.
Scott says there's a berry of some sort. Vanillas in there too.
Sean can see chocolate in the Glencairn.
Pour this on top of a banana split, let's go.
Pleasant simple nose.
We cheers.
Salt and heat come in strong on the finish.
Nice warmth to it.
Trevor gets sweetness on the front, a little cherry, then it gets a cayenne pepper type of heat.
Simon gets a dry acidic, bitter flavor, like a dark chocolate. He gets a brazil nut type of nuttiness as well when he swishes it around. Everyone comes around to that.
Packs a lot of strong flavors. What Trevor calls a dynamic scotch.
Simon points to the light fizzy, almost carbonated mouthfeel this has. Youthful lively feel to it.
There's a conversation whether salt and brine is a Islay typical flavor. It is but it's not like they have the monopoly on it like they do for medicinal or bonfire peat. We remember Kilkerran packing some salt, Old Pulteneys, Talisker...
Reviews: Scott's pick. Didn't know what to expect and he enjoys it. That said nothing blows his mind and he lands right at his average of 72. Trevor likes the dynamism, the way this scotch morphs from the nose to the finish in a range of different feels and flavors. He goes 82. Kyle is enjoying it but the salt popped out a little more than he'd like, and salt isn't his cup of scotch. He goes 70. Sean thinks it's distinct: the nuttiness, the dark chocolate. That bumps it up into the 80s for him. He goes 82. Simon closes the evening. He likes the lively mouthfeel, he likes the complexity and the type of flavors, this really hits a sweetspot and for it being the base 12 year old, he's excited to see how Bunny builds on this with the 18 and with some of the IBs and Limited Editions they put out. He goes 83. Averages out to 77.8, a notch above our average rating of 73.8.
Overall: The S&P is pretty split on this tonight and can't come to an agreement. We've got two guys in the ''this is a fine scotch but not something I would recommend'' category, to the other three being excited about it and planning on recommending it to people and stocking up in the near future. At $90 CAD in Ontario it rates above average on the value scale. The essence of this review if you're debating investing in a bottle is: read the tasting notes and make up your mind. The sherry influence is pretty distinct, so if you've enjoyed that in the past, this would be a good bet.
Cheers!
The S&P Crew
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