Scotch Whisky Review #216: Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair

Distillery: Bunnahabhain

Region: Islay

ABV: 46.3%

Age: NAS.

Price: $47.50

Cask Type: First and second fill Sherry casks, “with spirit of varying ages and warehouse locations to construct a dram that truly exposes the coastal nature of the Bunnahabhain single malt whisky”

Color: 1.2, Chestnut/Oloroso Sherry. Non-Chill Filtered and Natural Color

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Nose (according to the wife): It’s fairly fruity. The main note that pops up is pear with the tiniest sliver of pineapple. There’s more there but it’s hard to pick up any definition on the other fruits.

Palate: The pear from the nose is noticeably present. It’s almost like you’re sticking a spoon into a pile of grated/shredded pears. After the pear comes a bit of honey with a slight hit of cream. It kinda of reminds me of ice cream from a place we used to frequent (HoneyMee in Southern California), specifically it’s their milk ice cream with honey. There’s a note of malt biscuits as well.

Finish: Bit short. There’s a trace hint of ethanol here, not enough to ruin it but enough that you’re not quite enjoying the aftertaste. Along with that comes the aftertaste of Korean pears.

Conclusion: Bunnahabhain markets this whisky as one that highlights their “coastal nature”. While I’d say I enjoyed this whisky, I would also say that they’ve come a little short of that. Everything in here is what you’d almost expect from a decent, sherried whisky. You have orchard fruits, a bit of honey, and a bit of cream even. However, there’s nothing particularly maritime about this and that’s a bit of a disappointment. Not a bad whisky by any means, just one where perhaps the marketing needs to change a bit.

Final Score: 79.

Scotch Whisky Review #216, Islay Review #24, Whisky Network Review #322

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.