Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
Phew! I’ve made it to the last two Bunnahabhain in the scotch cave. And we’ve reached the bottle that made me want to do this in the first place.
I recently got a bottle of Elements of Islay Bn9 on a lark. This is not an expensive bottle at all, still available for ~40-45 gbp, ex VAT. I cracked it open at a recent gathering and we all liked it a lot, and felt like it punched well above its weight. I’ve been looking forward to sitting down with it in a calmer setting, without any other drams beforehand. And since I was so impressed that night, I thought “what the heck, I ought to give Bunnahabhain a better shot, so I’ll dig into all those samples I’ve been ignoring.” And here we are.
Final thoughts on the series at the end.
Tasted on 8/18/2022, neat in a Glencairn, water added later as appropriate.
(Pic from Whiskybase)
Bunnahabhain 7 Year Elements of Islay Bn9
Distillery: Bunnahabhain
Bottler: Elixir Distillers (ElD)
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 59.1%, cask strength
Age: NAS. Distilled in 2014. Bottled in 2021.
Cask type: Four American oak hogsheads
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 2,185 bottles.
Nose: mild wood smoke. Caramel. Malty. Chocolate. Seawater, shellfish. Oranges, apples, apricots. Sandalwood. With Water: biscuits. Somewhat floral. More maritime. Bacon fat. Peaches.
Taste: bright fruit. Mild wood smoke. Toffee and malt. Seawater. Nice mouthfeel. Pepper. A little hot. Strong tea. With Water: heat is gone with just a few drops. More smoke and fruit. Bacon fat, chocolate.
Finish: more wood smoke, followed by the fruit and pepper. Chocolate covered salted toffees. Mild seawater. Not quite as malty as the nose. Medium-long on smoke, seawater, toffee, and pepper. There’s a little tea-like bitterness off the end. With Water: fatty, a touch dry, bigger smoke.
Summary: beautiful nose with lots of fruit, chocolate malt balls, and maritime notes all wrapped up in mild wood smoke. Excellent balance. A few drops of water opens it up further, adding some bacon fattiness and more fruit. Nice mouthfeel, great flavors on the palate which follow the nose well. A nice pop of smoke at the end, decent length finish, again with lots of fruit, maritime notes, chocolate, and some fattiness.
My wife feels this is the best of the bunch. I’m still partial to the 30 from the last review, though I might be underrating this one.
Would I buy a bottle? yes
Final Score: 87.
Bunnahabhain 6 Year Signatory Vintage Staoisha (Spec’s pick)
Distillery: Bunnahabhain
Bottler: Signatory Vintage (SV)
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 60.0%, cask strength
Age: 6 years old. Distilled on 10/23/2014. Bottled on 04/09/2021.
Cask type: Dechar/Rechar Hogshead
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 283 bottles, from a single cask #10721.
Nose: big, earthy peat smoke. Seaweed. With Water: a little orange, maybe. Bran flakes.
Taste: earthy peat. Somewhat thin. Mild pepper. Seawater. Citrus? Hot. With Water: not as hot. Thin. Peat smoke. Oranges. A little malt.
Finish: lots of peat smoke. Seawater. A little citrus. Black pepper. Medium length almost all on smoke. With Water: bigger pop of smoke. A little fruit, a little more maritime. Black tea. Some maltiness.
Summary: it’s all smoke, all the time. Is Bunna? Checks notes… yup, is Bunna. This may be the most smoke-dominated, simplest dram I’ve ever had. There’s nothing really wrong with it, but it’s really just one thing all the way through: smoke. It’s a struggle to get anything besides smoke and some seaweed on the nose. The thin palate adds some spice and a touch of citrus. There’s a bit more saltiness and pepper in the finish, but I’m reaching here.
Would I buy a bottle? no
Final Score: 72.
Comparison
Order: Bn9 >> Signatory
No contest. The Bn9 is a great dram with a horde of flavors well balanced throughout. The Signatory bottle is the very definition of a one hit wonder.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 