10 year old Bunnahabhain moine drawn from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead. Heavily Peated profile.
Nose: Remarkably nutty with pecan pie and dry roasted salted peanuts in ab(bunna)dance. Behind this, some coastal nuances – creamy scallops, granite beach groynes and lime drivelled oysters. Reduced, this expresses a much meatier character with BBQ’d ribs, burnt ends and a good helping of brisket.
Taste: A massive wall of smoked goodness. This is seriously big. Salty seafood (lobster and smoked kippers), brine, seaweed and beach bonfires (still roaring into the night). Again, there’s meatiness here – a full roast Sunday beef joint, Cumberland sausage and pork steaks braised until the sugars and proteins have caramelised and sweetened. The addition of water tones things down a notch – but even so, this is still a very robust whisky. Charcoal fires, burning iron stoves, open fire pits and a slightly chalkiness.
Finish: Long with brine, buttered langoustines and smouldering pine cones.
Recent Society Bunnahabhain’s have been average to good – this one is excellent. A raw expression of the inherent power that’s possible from the distillery’s ‘moine’ output. Big, full-bodied and intense.