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. 

Here are the official notes:

As expected ... a monster! The Panel immediately started noting impressions such as black olive tapenade, natural tar, seaweed crackers, hot ramen broth, chilli sauce, treacle, burned hessian and wasabi. Like some kind of smoked kelp cordial dosed with bitumen. Water brought smoky bacon aromas, pancetta frazzling in a cast iron skillet, more tar, embrocations, wood smoke and pink ointment mixed with peat ash. The palate when neat was immensely tarry – full of oily bitumen, roof pitch, creosote, malt vinegar and wet seaweed, plus old creel nets, herbal ointments and some kind of peat-smoked heather honey. Water brought coal and peat smoke combined, then added farmyard funk, dunnage earthiness, peppery peat reek, horseradish and hot smoked paprika with a slug of petrol for good measure. Careful now! This matured for five years in a bourbon hogshead before being transferred to a second fill oloroso sherry hogshead.

Lots of expected notes here: olive, tar, seaweed, chili, bacon, etc. The usual Islay peated notes. More interesting: malt vinegar, honey, and gasoline (!). 

Let's see if it lives up to such interesting notes:

Nose: A nice balance of peat and sherry notes. Olives, raisins, smoke, tar, leather, salt, and - oddly - tons of smoked paprika and cracked pepper. The nose leans toward the drier side, with those spice notes. 

With a few minutes of resting, bacon and fried fish and hints of gasoline and brown sugar come out. Quite complex and rich.

Mouthfeel: Medium, right down the middle. 

Palate: Also leans on the dry side: roasted nuts, bacon, hints of honey, lots of seaweed, tar or coal, more dry spices (the spice builds and builds as the palate develops). Hints of paint and gasoline. It's vibrant, complicated, and full of personality - but also dry and astringent. With time, leather and ash and a richer honey note. The honey really emerges over time and is just lovely. 

Finish: Honey sweetness, ash, smoke, and smoked spices. Rather nice. 

Verdict: A great young Bunnahabhain, full of personality and flavor. As far as interesting Islay heavily peated whiskies go, this is about as good as you get for only 9 years. Tastes older. The balance between bourbon and sherry is spot on, and the underlying spirit is really potent. Good stuff for peat heads.