Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 55.7%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Sherry PX
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Alistair Walker Whisky Company
Average price: € 120.00
Official website: www.alistairwalkerwhisky.com
Vote: 89/100
In our very modest and entirely questionable opinion, Bunna doesn’t miss a beat. In the sense that among both OB and IB we have never tasted anything less than good. Moreover, Bunnahabhain is one of the not-so-many distilleries capable of churning out high-profile single malts even with not-so-long ageing: a sign, at the very least, of the whisky’s undoubted basic quality.
Let’s see how it goes today with a single cask of their peated whisky, Staoisha, at the test of finishing in a former PX puncheon. The “game” gets even tougher considering that Alistair Walker with his Infrequent Flyers likes to “push” with particularly marked finishes. Will it have been a winning choice here too?
Distillate from 2013, offered at 55.7%ABV in its natural colour and without chillfiltration, which resulted in 691 bottles still available.
Tasting notes
The colour resembles that of chestnut honey.
And indeed on the nose, after an unmistakable memory of fat dripping sizzling from the grill, the first memory is of chestnut honey. Dates and sultanas on an ashtray: it’s boorish to put out a cigarette on fruit, but that’s the feeling. A generous sprinkling of black pepper, before a captivating mix of salted caramel, milk chocolate and coffee powder. A vague recollection of fresh ink pairs with a hint of penumbra, as if the Little Florentine Scribe from the book Heart had met the Dominic Toretto from Fast & Furious . White-fleshed fruit on the grill. A generous hint of vanilla growing over time. There’s fun to be had.
The mouthfeel is a robust pepper-based acceleration, leaving traces of charcoal on the tongue as well as salted caramel, blood orange and roasted almonds. White fruit returns on the grill, apple and pear. Together with peach and apricot they make a nice fruit salad. Less of a rollercoaster than on the nose, but it is such a well-balanced marriage of smoke and sweetness that, even if you wanted to, you cannot object.
In the warm, peppery, medium-length finish, aromatic traces of salted caramel, charcoal and blood orange remain.
A rock whisky with a very distinctive profile, recommended for peat aficionados, but also for those looking for drams with a good dose of unpredictability. In a nutshell, Bunna’s multifaceted distillate and Alistair Walker’s mastery of the art of re-racking at their best.