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!

I'll let the official tasting notes explain the casking here: 

This shape-shifting dram spent four years in ex-bourbon wood before being transferred into a second-fill toasted hogshead. The nose balanced maple syrup pancakes, lemon toffee and green apple with bacon, deep-fried boquerones and old harbour-side creels. The palate conjured memories of trying to light beach bonfires with paper and straw; the chalky, dry finish had pickled ginger and wasabi, burnt sage, clove and hessian. The reduced nose added pinecones and driftwood to the fire; then rockpools, sacks of whelks and eating grilled prawns on the jetty. The palate combined lemon squeezed over barbecued mackerel, ginger biscuits, over-done custard Danish pastries and wood smoke.

Fascinating! I'm expecting big things from this second-fill toasted hogshead. The rest of the notes are pretty typical of Bunna and Islay drams generally, although I am a bit curious about how strong that maple note is, as well as the burnt sage. Botted at a nice fat 60.5%, let's see how it does: 

Nose: Extremely muscular and brusque. Bacon and smoked ham come first, then more coastal peat and smoke, then fried seafood - like a steaming basket of fish and chips. Tar, and something like hemp rope. Unlike the official note, I don't get any fruit whatsoever. No lemon, no apple. Very little sweetness either - no maple, no toffee. This is entirely coastal in nature. As the nose develops in the glass, it gets even more tar and a certain earthiness emerges. And perhaps some fresh butter!

With water, it sweetens up a little bit. Toffee, and a curious pine/cedar note (the pinecones from the official notes?). Some brown sugar, maybe chocolate. The peat and smoke back away a little. I like the nose better neat, with the maritime influence fully present. There are herbal aromas at work here too, but they tend to get drowned in the sea of peat. 

Mouthfeel: Super thick and chewy. 

Palate: Exactly as forceful as the nose implies, but then develops some significant subtleties. First you get a ton of peat and smoke and brine and minerality, then some ash and tar... but then, some sweetness finally emerges. Vanilla - maybe like if you grilled a vanilla pod. The vanilla is surprisingly rich and becomes something akin to caramel as it sits on your tongue. It's quite nice. Then fish flesh - like a tuna steak seared in hot pepper oil. More shrimp. More rope. 

With water, the chocolate emerges in the flavor as well, along with a nice gingery spiciness that pairs well with the shrimp overtones. Like marinated cocktail shrimp. The ash and tar are reduced a bit with water. It's more subtle with water, with a vague antiseptic note that comes and goes. I like the more bracing flavors that arrive with it neat, but there is a certain "burned sage" note when you add water that certainly isn't unwelcome. 

Finish: The finish is quite long, with a line of ash that sticks in your cheeks. Peat, brine, ash, and a certain peppery oakiness that sits under everything else. Solid. 

Verdict: This is a pretty good peated Bunnahabhain. What was most interesting to me was seeing of the sweeter notes of the unpeated Bunna come out here - the chocolate, the toffee, the vanilla. 

The second-fill toasted cask certainly imparts a very strong maritime smokiness as well, that lasts in your mouth long after the glass is emptied. At cask strength, this is very potent stuff, and would be interesting to drink side-by-side with the current Toiteach a Dha. There is a high level of ash and seafood here, which - if you like that profile - is quite attractive. It's definitely named accurately. 

Although there seems to be no end to the very young heavily peated Bunnas that come out from the SMWS, this one is probably worth your time. A classic Islay expression. My favorite SMWS Bunnahabhain was probably the ex-wine finished "The Storm-Tossed Sea" ... my second favorite the ex-sherry finished "War and Peat." This would probably finish third. Interesting, at the very least; solidly satisfying, in the best case.