Bunnahabhain An Cladach

A lot of raisins on the nose. Sweet and fruity.

Yet another Bunnahabhain Unpronounceable bottling: An Cladach, which translates as “The Shore” in Gaelic. This bottle is a travel retail exclusive that’s sold in 1 Liter size and is bottled at a robust 50% ABV. It’s light/amber gold and oily with runny legs in the taster. The nose is salty if you go in immediately after the pour. I had to wait this one out to get the subdued sherry notes, along with toffee and raisins. A lighter, chocolate and coffee grounds note formed the background noise here- with almost no perceptible barrel wood. The high ABV is also very well hidden. The palate hits hard with youthful spirit and a slight oaky harshness. The ABV sets the tone, but also seems to evaporate away and leave behind the perfect balance of sherry, roasted nuts and salty sea air. There’s a nice, briny note that you don’t often see with Bunna. It took me by a bit of a surprise, even though the name is telling me to be on the lookout. The light, milk chocolate also masks the tougher back end just enough to keep things in check. The finish is medium, and slightly on the weaker side- with the typical suspects playing a closing role: sherry sweetness, peppery oak and some red berries and cream. The extra oomph from the ABV causes everything to dry up rather quickly, but damn it’s still enjoyable. Overall, at $66 for a 1L bottle I have to say this is a really good deal. It’s another winning NAS formula from Bunnahabhain and I gotta point out that most of these crazy-named releases are really hitting the mark. Whatever they lack in smoothness and complexity they make up for in value and experimentation. This one is no different. I’m giving it 3.75 solid stars and a recommended “buy”. Cheers.