This throwback label celebrates 30 years of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in America - and the whisky behind the label is a 14 year unpeated Bunnahabhain. I really like Bunnahabhain and was delighted when I won this lottery-only release.
Here are the official notes: 
I really love Bunnahabhain - both peated and unpeated - and I am quite looking forward to this. I still haven't had the official cask strength 12 year bottling, so I will eventually compare notes between them.
Let's see how SMWS celebrates 30 years:
Nose: Sweet, fruity, rich. Lots of pear and apple and cherry, but particularly the pear. Balsamic vinegar. Salt. Caramel. A lot of sherry influence - with some time in the glass, raisins and walnuts. Sand/minerals - there is definitely oceanic influence here.
Mouthfeel: Thick and viscous, but also oily.
Palate: Sherry bomb mixed with ocean bomb - salt, wood, vinegar, raisins, stewed plums and cherries, an herbal bitterness, walnuts, orchard fruit. Caramel.
Sadly, I don't get potatoes, cheese, bacon, any of the savory notes - perhaps deeper in the bottle. I'll update if that's the case. This is a real salt-leaning sherry bomb as I'm tasting it.
Finish: Not very long, but complex and well-integrated despite the brevity - wood tannins, wisps of alcohol, raisin skin, walnuts, beach pebbles, sea salt, sherry, and gone.
Verdict: An absolutely lovely unpeated Bunna, I immediately understand why they chose this to represent the 30 years of SMWS in America: it's rich, luscious, lots of flavor, powerful mouthfeel, big sherry influence without losing the essential Islay character. A real winner. Worth picking up at auction etc. if you like this kind of thing.
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