Cadenheads Bunnahabhain 12yo Spring Authentic Collection 2023 & Cadenheads Jura 31yo Spring Authentic Collection 2023

Cadenheads Bunnahabhain 12yo Spring Authentic Collection 2023

Region: Islay

ABV: 57.8%

Price: £65.00

This release was matured for 12 years in a bourbon barrel.

Nose

The nose opens up with creamy fudge, vanilla custard, white pepper, ginger spice and a little nutmeg too. There's a handful of crushed mint leaves, peach cobbler and sweet lemon iced tea. Time and air in the glass reveals rosewater, caramel shortcake and dusty wardrobes.

Palate

The palate begins with a nice oily texture, thick with salted caramel and chocolate chip cookies. There's a fair bit of spice that comes through, ginger mainly with some warming chili heat, but it's not overwhelming. We're also finding a lot of big vanilla and coconut flavours, marshmallow and a bit of shortbread too as it moves into a medium length finish. As it sits in the glass, it starts to develop a light smoke, charred wood and caramelised banana.

Nose (with water)

Water brings out a real coastal funk on the nose which we weren't expecting, a slight mossiness and wet sand. A lot of that initial sweet, creamy vanilla has been hidden behind this newly found island aroma, and we're a little disappointed by it.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate brings out a much darker, richer flavour profile, burnt caramel, spent coffee grounds and rice paper. It's also affected the texture of the dram in a negative way. In a similar vein to the reduced nose, we much prefer this without water.

Conclusion

A nice oily Bunnah with lots of sweet, creamy and fruity notes. The palate has a great depth of flavour, but perhaps a little bit too much spice. Saying that, it's really good quality whisky with lots to offer, and for a very reasonable price. Water doesn't really benefit it in our opinion, so we'd avoid adding any. We'll go with 7.5/10.

Score: 7.5/10

Cadenheads Jura 31yo Spring Authentic Collection 2023

Region: Highlands

ABV: 44.4%

Price: £300.00

This release was matured for 31 years in a bourbon barrel.

Nose

The nose begins with a mellow yet pleasant blend of fresh orchard fruits and sweet vanilla bean aromas. Following that we're getting loveheart sweets, mango puree and some tinned pineapple too. Giving it some time and air in the glass, and we're starting to find a few more herbal and woody aromas, but the overriding aromas are of fresh, sweet tropical fruits. We're also getting a little buttery toasted brioche bread too.

Palate

We're greeted with the initial sweetness we detected on the nose, lots of fresh red apple, pineapple and mango, but it moves quickly into richer flavours of coffee revels, dark chocolate, wood varnish, and walnuts. The mouthfeel has a nice texture, like a simple syrup from a cocktail making kit, and the finish lingers on for a decent while with some drier notes of bitter melon, dried oak and unsweetened ginger beer.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has a lot more minerality, wet pebbles, a touch of salt water, salted caramel, peanuts and creamy fudge. There's a lot less of the fresh fruit now, but it's still a well balanced, inviting nose.

Palate (with water)

Water removes some of that initial sweetness on the palate, and accentuates some of those richer, nutter flavours. We're still getting the spent coffee and walnuts from before, and a bit of that ginger spice on the finish. Be careful with how much water you add, you can really dilute it too much due to the low initial ABV.

Conclusion

We came into this with hesitation... Our previous experiences with Jura have either been quite pleasant, or absolutely terrible. This one is really quite good. Super tropical, fruity and sweet on the nose, well balanced alcohol, moving into a richer palate that gives the dram a nice contrast. It's perhaps a little bit dry on the finish and the mouthfeel could be better, but we're pleasantly surprised. It's not cheap, but no 31yo whisky is these days.

Score: 7.5/10

• 10 - Perfection. A whisky that we’ll remember forever.
• 9 - Amazing. We’d pay through the nose for a bottle.
• 8 - Great. Pick this up at RRP.
• 7 - Good. Happy to have a dram or two but wouldn’t buy a bottle.
• 6 - Passable. Would accept a dram, but wouldn’t seek it out.
• 5 - Poor. Would drink if it was the only option.
• 4 - Bad. Maybe it can be saved by ginger beer?
• 3 - Awful. It can't be saved by ginger beer.
• 2 - Pour it out
• 1 - We’ve never tried a whisky rated this low and hopefully never will.

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