Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 48%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon refill
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Hogshead Imports
Average price: € 100.00
Official website: hogshead-imports.nl
Vote: 87/100
After Caol Ila, here is another bottling much loved by independents, namely Bunnahabhain in the peated version informally called Staoisha, and the Dutch importer and distributor is no exception.
Single cask with an unusually low cask strength given its age, with 278 bottles produced: the highly peated Bunnahabhain rarely disappoint, especially when young: let’s see if this one confirms the rule.
Tasting notes
The nose begins with a very intense wave of saltiness and iodine, which soon opens up to sweet notes of vanilla, banana, peach, pastry and citrus. Seafruit. The acrid, smoky part is decisive but not overpowering, veering towards vegetal with inflections of aromatic herbs, although over time it reveals an accent of cigarette smoke. Coastal.
On the palate, the peat in its vegetal and aromatic nature (rosemary, thyme) blends well with the seaside soul of the whisky, intertwining with a lot of saltiness, brine, oysters soaked in seawater and wet rocks. The spices (black pepper, ginger) sprinkle the fruit on the nose, playing on the contrasts between sweetness, savouriness and acrid smoke punctuations, extracting impressions of liquorice and marshmellow.
The finish is quite long and spicy, where the smoke becomes thicker and envelops fruit, salt, liquorice and slight balsamic inflections.
Once again Staoisha proves to be an original and lively peated malt that perfectly combines island evocations with the smoke and sweetness of the cask.