Bunnahabhain Ceòbanach

Bright peat nose with apples, slight citrus and a bit of vanilla hiding behind it. Smoky taste but not as harsh as I expected based on the nose. There is a rich fruitiness, citrus and honey underneath. Pretty sweet and surprising. The finish is medium long with caramel and a bit of tobacco, and that peat is back here. I like it A few drops of water really mellows the smoke and peat down. It tastes a lot sweeter after that.

Rewarding. That is my summary of this not so complex whisky that i have enjoyed. It is not something that will change your life but i just truly had a good time tasting it. This is my third Bunnahabhain and frankly the other two did not impressed me much (Shania Twain quote). Ceòbanach actually means "Smoky Mist" and it is properly pronounced 'kyaw-bin-och'. This is the heavily peated expression from this distillery, famous for been "not so peated". Bottled at 46.3%abv, natural pale straw color, un-chill filthered. On the nose, this is very interesting. Right away when you open the bottle, you will feel the peat and yellow apples. But those are fake aromas; when you pour yourself a dram, the notes change into this very creamy, peaty whisky. The most amazing and accurate aroma note is Rum Raisins ice cream. It is amazing how clean that aroma is here. Earthy peat is intense, sometimes too powerful as alcohol not as peaty. There is a marvelous tropical sweetness. Grapes and White wine. Beautifully perfumed.So far this is the best bunna' on the nose. So creamy. On the palate it is quite spicy. Definitively some raisin influence.Turns spicy fast. Rum raisins ice cream. Aftertaste has a lovely tobacco smoke. Very rewarding. Nice Pepper, Puffs of smoke, very pleasant. Ginger and salt. Overall this is a very good, straightforward dram. Not complex but somehow manages to be pleasant and "fun". I had to reason it a little while, because it was good enough to trick my scoring system into something higher, but a fair score for it is 88 over 100. For $70 a bottle, this one can be recommended.