The first time I tasted the Bain’s 15 year old whisky was about five years ago at The Only Whisky Show when Andy Watts had some in a beautiful decanter hidden underneath the table at his Three Ships stand.
It was love at first taste. I knew that this was what, for me, perfect whisky tasted like. Unfortunately, it took a year or so before it was released as a distillery bottling.
The Bain’s 15 year old whisky is the first in the Founder’s Collection series and pays tribute to Andrew Geddes Bain, who built the Bain’s Kloof Pass. More editions in the Founders collection include the Bain’s 18 year old PX Cask, Oloroso Cask, and Fino casks. The Bain’s range has also expanded with a 10 yo Shiraz cask and even a 21 year old Double Cask.
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Initially, only 2 000 bottles of the Bain’s 15 yo whisky was released in June 2018 for the Mandela Centenary celebrations and the special guests attending the Barack Obama speech and gala dinner.
Fortunately, the distillery released more bottles in travel retail and the James Sedgwick distillery shop. It retails for about R1000. I have also seen this bottle in duty free in Mauritius.
Bain’s is a 100% South African yellow corn single grain whisky. The Bain’s 15 yo started life similar to the standard Bain’s whisky with an initial maturation of 3 years in first fill bourbon casks before being re-casked for a further 2-3 years in a second set of first fill bourbon casks. Then for an additional 10 years of maturing in both 3rd and 4th fill bourbon cask before bottling.
Bain’s 15 year old Whisky Review
COUNTRY: South Africa
ABV: 52.5%
COLOUR: Golden amber
NOSE: Rich vanilla and tropical fruit. Banana and sweet pineapple with hints of toasted nuts, muscovado sugar and wood. A floral hints in the background with soft black pepper. Rich, inviting, and just perfect.
PALATE: Heaven in a glass. Tropical fruit salad sprinkled with vanilla sugar and freshly baked French palmiers. Creamy and sweet with hints of cinnamon, pepper and caramelised banana. Bits of toasted wood, dried fruit and marmalade in the background.
It needs no water and is perfectly drinkable, just like it is. More creamy vanilla and pepper come to the front if you want to add a few drops of water. Medium body and perfect for summer.
FINISH: Long and lingering with tropical sweetness, cinnamon and white pepper.
RATING: DIVINE
If I can take only one whisky with me to a desert island, it will be the Bains 15 year old whisky. It perfectly balances sweetness and spices but is light and ideal for island sunshine. The Bain’s have the perfect level of spicy vanilla sweetness balanced with wood and tropical fruit to keep me happy for a long, long time. A true masterpiece!
I have also tasted the Bain’s 15 year old Sonically Matured whisky and have captured my tasting notes for this release as well.
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