KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 22: That Boutique-y Whisky Co. Bunnahabhain 10 Year Old
Posted on November 7, 2021
By Evan
Day Twenty-Two in our 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar brings us another bottling from That Boutique-y Whisky Company. This is the fourth we have seen thus far - and the second we have Single Malt we have gotten from them. We are heading back to Islay today for That Boutique-y Whisky Company Bunnahabhain 10-Year-Old!
2017 was the last time we had any Bunnahabhain in our KWM Whisky Calendar, which is a bit of a travesty by my estimation. Bunna is my personal favourite distillery on Islay - I love it for both unpeated and peated Single Malt distilled there.
Bunnahabhain Distillery is the northernmost distillery on Islay – it lays off the beaten path and is somewhat remote even when compared to the rest of the island. The distillery was actually only reachable by boat until the 1960s, when a road was finally built to it. Bunnahabhain is one of a trio of Scottish Single Malt Distilleries owned by Burn Stewart (Distell Group).
Burn Stewart and its parent company also own Tobermory Distillery on the Isle of Mull which we discussed on both Day Four and Day Seventeen. and Deanston Distillery which resides on the Scottish mainland in Perthshire. Like its siblings, most of the flagship single malts Bunnahabhain range are bottled unchill-filtered and with no added colouring at the curious but commendable strength of 46.3% ABV.
This Islay distillery was founded in 1881 and started its life making the heavily peated whisky that the region is famous for. For most of its history its whisky was exclusively used in blends such as Black Bottle, and even today only a fraction of its production is bottled as a single malt. In 1963 production was increased and at the same time the distillery's style was changed to the lighter, unpeated single malt whisky it is known for today. Since 1997 there have been small amounts of heavily peated (35 PPM malt spec) single malt made each year but it is not what the distillery is known for.
The core of Bunnahabhain's production and lineup doesn't show a very noticeable peat if it shows at all as they use a malt spec with a maximum phenolic level of 2 PPM. This makes it one of the more gently peated Islay single malts available. The distillery and its whisky are sometimes referred to as the 'Gentle Giant of Islay' What it lacks in smoke and peat it typically makes up for in nuanced and complex character and plenty of sherry cask influence, at least in official bottlings. Will this Bunnahabhain have any sherry cask influence to it? Based on the colour, I would guess not... Shall we find out?
That Boutique-y Whisky Co. Bunnahabhain 10-Year-Old - 50.5%
We did not receive any of the 1287 500ml bottles of this 10 Year Old Bunnahabhain from That Boutique-y Whisky Company, but we did get some 50ml mini bottles of it! This 10 year old was bottled at 50.5% ABV.
Evan's Tasting Note
Nose: Salted toffee, honey, splashes of sea spray and ozone, custard, apples, green bananas, rising bread dough, limes and the coconut, plus a touch of olive oil and malted vinegar.
Palate: Oily and salty with a peppery bite before giving way to fresh-baked pretzels, pears, apple juice, green grapes, macadamia nuts, vanilla and cocoa butter.
Finish: Oily and salty on the finish as well, with a touch of walnuts and very soft fruit.
Comment: You may not be used to Bunnahabhain like this if you are only familiar with the official unpeated bottlings. Stripped of that heavily sherried influence, it is still a robust malt with pleasant salty, floral and doughy notes.
I was wondering if this Bunna would be peated, and it turns out it is not. In hindsight, I shouldn't have been too surprised by that, as peated Bunna usually has a codename like Margadale or the more recent Staoisha that we are seeing pop up on indie bottles.
We are inching closer to the finish line on this year's KWM Whisky Calendar. Day 23 is up next, tomorrow!
Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Twitter and Instagram: @sagelikefool
This entry was posted in Store, Whisky, Tastings, KWM Whisky Calendar 2020, Whisky Calendars
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