Bunnahabhain 6 Year (SMWS 10.200 "The Storm-Tossed Sea")

 

Another 6 year independent bottling of Bunnahabhain with an unusual cask finish from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS). The last one I tried, "Maritime Marshmallows" was finished in a re-toasted cask; I found it surprisingly savory, with notes of olives and soy sauce and only hints of the classic marshmallow flavor you get from toasted oak. 

This bottle spent 5 years in ex-bourbon, and the final year - intriguingly - in a 2nd fill ex-red wine barrique. I've had red wine finished peated whisky before (Ardbeg Blaaaack comes immediately to mind), and red wine finished whisky from SMWS (two different and worthy bottles from Auchroisk), but never both at once. I am quite curious to see how Bunnahabhain's signature fruity spirit comes through when peated and with red wine notes added. Bottled at 60.3% (!). This should be an adventure...

Nose: A very unusual nose for an Islay: the neck pour was all cherries (undoubtedly the red wine influence), grape skins, industrial smoke from a factory on the coast, tobacco, leather, HEAVY peat (would love to know the ppm on this), smoke, and rounded off with a little vanilla. As I dug deeper into the bottle, the bigger flavors (cherry, especially) rounded out a bit. With water, the cherries coagulate into cherry pipe tobacco, and a more plum-forward wine note emerges. The nose is a bit closed, a bit subtle, compared to the explosion that is the palate. 

Mouthfeel: Viscous, heavy, oily. 

Palate: Also interesting - the red wine has really left its mark here. There is a subtle honey, a lot of peat and smoke, a definite dry red wine element (tannins), and something like ... charred almonds? Or hazelnuts? I'm unsure, but a nuttiness that you sometimes find in heavily peated Islay drams. 

This is no mistaking that this is a heavily peated and heavily coastal dram - forget everything you've read about Bunnahabhain 12 Year or Stiuireadair ... this is ferocious. The red wine element adds a satisfying dimension, but I suspect it also masks or even destroys other more subtle flavors. 

With water, that sharp red wine tang comes out, hand in hand with a mountain of peat and smoke. The original five years in the bourbon cask get lost in the bog. With water, this does remind me somewhat of Ardbeg Blaaaaack - with a little less complexity, perhaps, but the same core flavors. A ton of salinity, too - the ocean was not far from wherever this was distilled and aged. 

Finish: Last an age or more. Red wine tannins, and endless fountains of smoke. Sits on your tongue and digs in. Quite nice, if you like Islay finishes. 

Verdict: Unusual ... reminds me a bit, of course, of Bunna's own Toiteach a Dha, but only a bit. The savory notes are covered up by red, red wine notes which are semi-sweet - like a glaze - and merge well with the peat and smoke. It's an attractive dram, but it's very aggressive - VERY aggressive, even for a 6 year old - and not for the faint of heart. Recommended especially, perhaps, for those who liked the latest Springbank Cask Strength release (the 56.1%), which also had distinct red wine touches married to an elemental funkiness. This perhaps doesn't represent Bunnahabhain's core values (so to speak), so much as it does the possibilities of a high quality peated spirit being married to an unusually strong red wine barrique, even if only for a year.