SMWS April 2024 Outturn Review (Jack Rose Saloon)

 

Here is a quick review of the six samples from the April 2024 Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) outturn! First, some quick pics: 

First sample: 18 year Glen Grant, finished in PX sherry, 55% ABV, nicknamed "A Major Treat." My notes: Orange, vanilla, dust/dunnage, shortbread, cherry, malt barley, herbs galore on the nose. Palate brings more cherry, lime, sugar, lots of alcohol (at 18 years!), malt, oak, ore herbs. Finish is quite short, with oak, cherry stones, hints of honey. Water smoothes it out. 

Second sample: 9 Year Ben Nevis, also finished in PX sherry, 58.6% abv, nicknamed "Cheeky Wee Upstart." Nose has earth, golden syrup, apple cores (!), a vague industrial note, moss, candy shop aroma. Palate is much brighter, and very hot - lots of alcohol burn, chili peppers, apples, malt sugar, oak, pepper. Opens a bit with water: deeper apples, less alcohol, more "foresty." Finish is reasonable, tons of dry oak, baked apple, and dry cocoa. 

Third sample: 16 Year Royal Brackla, finished in a bodega-sourced Oloroso cask, 56.3% abv, nicknamed "The Stage is Set." Nose brought lots of black pepper and honey, melon, white grapes, tons of butter (!), oak, apples, pears. Palate was more of the same: apple, pear, sugar, oak, lots of pepper, lots of butter. Finish was surprisingly short, with apple, oak, and pepper. 

Fourth sample: 14 Year Auchroisk, finished in PX sherry, 55.5% ABV, nicknamed "Cross-Cultural." Nose was lovely: grape must, cherry cough syrup, grape candies, field herbs, and a nice grassiness. Palate continued these notes in a big sweet-to-bitter sweep: cinnamon, grape, hints of cognac, hay, bitter herbs. Finish was medium to long, with fresh grapes, oak, herbs. I liked this one a lot. 

Fifth sample: 11 Year Highland Park, vatting of two casks. First fill bourbon, 65.7% abv (!!), nicknamed "You Only Live Once." Easily the crowd favorite of the night, the host Mike Hom called it "beautiful," and I agreed completely. Nose was honey over honey, salt, vanilla, fresh heather, minerals. Palate brought more honey, oil, salt, rocks and heather. Pure and clean. Finish was long: salt, heather, oak, honey. Just lovely stuff. 

Sixth and final sample: 9 Year Bunnahabhain, heavily peated and finished in PX sherry, 58.1% abv, nicknamed "Quo Vadis?" it was also heavily popular. Nose was wood, iodine, lemon, coal, oak, bacon, clay, pineapple, rubber... very rich, very dense. Palate brought lemon, ash, iodine, oak, rubber, pineapple. Finish lasted forever: lemon, sugar, ash. Everyone thought it was a teenaged Laphroaig (!), but no - Bunnahabhain for the win! 

Bunnahabhain 9 Year (SMWS 10.240 "No Naked Flames")

 

It's been a while since the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") released any heavily peated Bunnahabhain. This 9 year old features a rather unusual four year finish in a second fill oloroso sherry hogshead, which made it more enticing than usual. 

Bunnahabhain 14 Year (SMWS 10.249, 30th Anniversary Bottling, "Spectacular Horse's Mane Waves")

 

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. 

Bunnahabhain 16 Year (Blackadder Raw Cask)

 

Here we go again - I found another excellent deal on a Blackadder Raw Cask and - as always - simply could not say no. I should have said no, this exhausts my budget for the rest of the month for whisky or anything else, but ... a 16 year peated Bunnahabhain, with giant flakes of cask floating in the bottle? Another Dram Hunter selection from Raj Sabharwal?? Sign me up, I'll go for broke. 

Bunnahabhain 10 Year (Clan Denny) Second Take

 

Almost exactly a year has gone by since I was gifted a dram of this by my good friend Rob Martin. Tonight, while out walking around, I wandered into Metro Liquors in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington DC and they had a fire sale on this 2018 bottling to make room for new things. I knew I'd had it, but my memory was scant, faded. So I picked up a bottle.

Bunnahabhain 7 Year (SMWS 10.216 "Creels and Harbors")

In the past year I have had no less than five six-or-seven-year single cask bottlings of peated Bunnahabhain from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"). As my friend Rob Martin would say, it should be its own category of Scotch by this point, along with the ubiquitous 10 year Caol Ila. I'm only surprised at this point that kitchen sinks don't have a third tap for 10 year Caol Ila, next to the hot and cold water. It's everywhere. 

As the weather cools off, my taste for peat grows and grows, and this came with a particularly high recommendation during the SMWS's 2021 Gathering - a sort of general Scotch festival they hosted. I made an impulse purchase and now the bottle sits next to me, waiting for review. Let's investigate!

Bunnahabhain 7 Year (SMWS Small Batch Release "Smoky Maritime Hit")

 

A single cask small batch release from Bunnahabhain via the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), this was released in 2021 for the annual Islay Festival. At a brash 7 years old, this was matured in second-fill Pedro Ximenez hogshead as well as re-charred casks (!). Interesting combination... not to mention it's heavily peated! So unsure quite what to expect.

Bunnahabhain 7 Year (SMWS 10.211 "War and Peat")

 

This is another heavily peated Bunnahabhain (often called "Staoisha" after Loch Staoisha on the Isle of Islay where the distillery is located), this time with an interesting re-casking. Hailing from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), this was aged for five years in ex-bourbon before being finished for two years in a second-fill Oloroso sherry cask. 

Bunnahabhain 12 Year (Second Take)

 

According to my records, I last reviewed this hallmark Islay dram a long, long seven years ago. And after recently sampling a wild, bold, brave 6 year Bunnahabhain from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, I became curious about their main, core spirit. 

What IS Bunnahabhain? Is it the richly savory Toiteach A Dha? The soft, sweet, chocolatey Stiuireadair? One of the wild independent bottlings I've had? Perhaps the true Islay chameleon isn't Caol Ila, as everyone always says, but Bunnahabhain - a high quality spirit that plays well in every environment. 

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. 

Bunnahabhain Toiteach a Dha (NAS)

 

It's been ~7 years since I last tried the Bunnahbain Toiteach ("Smoky" in Gaelic) - since then, Bunnahabhain has released this new version ("a Dha" meaning Two). This is rumored to be quite heavily peated (55 ppm?) and aged in Manzanilla sherry casks, comes with No Age Statement from distillery Bunnahabhain. We may not know how old it is, but it's un-chill-filtered, un-colored, and presented at a decent 46.3% ABV. How is it? 

Bunnahabhain Stiuireadair (NAS)

 

Finally - a Bunnahabhain I love! I respect the 12 year and Toiteach, but this bottle... I loved. It's no age statement (meaning: very, very young), and matured in a mix of first- and second-fill sherry casks (almost certainly it's predominantly second-fill), no chill-filtration, no coloring, bottled at a nice 46.3% ABV. Gaelic note: the name means "Helmsman" and refers to the man at the wheel on every bottle of Bunnahabhain. Apparently this will partially replace the 12 Year in stores. Let's see what I found: 

Bunnahabhain 10 Year (Clan Denny)

 

Another interesting independent bottling - this time it's Islay staple Bunnahabhain, a single cask offering from Clan Denny aged 10 years in a refill hogshead, bottled unfiltered and without coloring at 46%. I am no great fan of Bunnahabhain, so I am hoping this independent lens onto the spirit will sway me towards it. Let's see:

Bunnahabhain 6 Year (SMWS 10.194 "Maritime Marshmallows")

 

Here is another curiosity from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS). This one is a Bunnahabhain that has spent 6 years in a re-charred hogshead, and was bottled at 58.5%. I always think of Bunnahabhain as one of the delicate Islay offerings, so it was strange to see it married to a re-charred cask. The SMWS nicknamed this one "Maritime Marshmallows." Let's see what the result was. 

Black Bottle (Blend, post-2013)

Black Bottle was known for decades as "the peaty blend," made up of bits of all the Islay distilleries. However, as of 2013 or so, after various changes in ownership, they changed the blend around, with the result that there is now a pronounced Highland/Speyside emphasis, with a greatly reduced peat character, all of which is provided by Bunnahabhain. This is a review of the new formulation of Black Bottle, since I can't find a dusty forgotten bottle of the old stuff for the life of me. 

Bunnahabhain Toiteach (NAS)

After trying and liking a bottle of the core 12 Year expression by Islay distiller Bunnahabhain, I was eager and curious to try their peated bottle, the no-age-statement Toiteach (and apparently pronounced "toe chack" and meaning Smoky - a good sign). I bought a bottle as a birthday present for a new friend, who very kindly shared a glass with me, and I immediately wrote down my impressions to register here. 

Bunnahabhain 12 Year

Ah... my journey through Islay is complete. Bunnahabhain ("Boo-nah-HAH-van," meaning Foot of the River) was the last distillery on my list - from Ardbeg to Kilholmen, Bruichladdich to Lagavulin, Laphroaig to Bowmore, Caol Ila to Bunnahabhain. The distillery dates to at least 1881, and the area is apparently well known for shipwrecks (according to Wikipedia), which lends a nice sinister aspect. The bottle is curiously shaped and designed, and decidedly old-fashioned.