Bunnahabhain Cruach Mhòna

Another of the bonus samples from the SDT. This time we venture over to Islay’s northern shores to Bunnahabhain, where we have Cruach-Mhòna, a travel retail exclusive. Gaelic for “peat stack”, this single malt comes in at a respectable 50% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of medium amber. The nose is sweet billowing peat smoke...oh I love it already! Sherry maturation is evident with sugary dates, plums, raspberries and blackberries. Cigar ashes, creosote, tennis balls and rubber...oh so good, a proper Islay profile. Vanilla custard, some polished oak, molasses, ginger and even a drop of teriyaki. It turns slightly to citrus with oranges/tangerines and a twist of lemon. The addition of water brings the berries out a bit more as well as the ashy notes. The palate is all sweet peat. Sherry and raspberries. Tennis balls and rubber, less than the nose but still present. Orange peel, licorice, almonds or maybe hazelnut and some well integrated oak. Water does little but lessen the intensity and produce a slightly bitter taste. Without water is definitely preferable. A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that is oily and creamy and mouthwatering. The finish is long, smoky, sweet(ish), with creosote and the smoke trailing on for a good long while. Other than the Ardbeg 23 that I had not too long ago, this is the first proper Islay I’ve had in a while. Oh did I miss this! Really liked the nose, but the palate was a little less complex that I would have liked. I guess that’s a NAS, TRE for you though. At $100 I think it’s a little over priced (even for a 1L bottle), but I might be tempted to purchase it if I came across a bottle. Thanks to @Telex for the sample. A solid 4 Cheers

Pretty burny. I like the vanilla and hint of smoke, but it burns

Soft and silky

What we have here is another sample from, what I like to call, Bunnahabhain’s Unpronounceable Series. This is a travel retail exclusive and I received a sample of this from my friend @Telex, after I traded this bottle to him for something else that escapes me right now. He was gracious enough to send me a hearty pour so I can review it. This is a deep gold in color with undefined legs that snake their way down the Glencairn after a vigorous spin. It leaves behind tiny, watery droplets even though it’s bottled at a hearty 50% ABV. I paid just over $110 for this 1L bottle from an online shoppe out of the UK. The nose has lots of campfire and creosote smoke initially. There’s a nice splash of red berries, but that charcoal note permeates the fruitiness. Then I get a hit of an odd, musty smell. It doesn’t belong at all- sometimes I get that same type of band aid note from a few Islay whiskies and I think it’s out of place. It’s not off-putting, it just doesn’t quite belong. Thankfully, it fades but so does the berry note- leaving just the smoke. The mouthfeel on the palate is nice. There’s smoky, earthy peat mingling with some fresh pastry notes. Those delicious red and black raspberries come along again. It’s a tad thick, especially for such a high ABV, but it works. The finish is medium to long, but it turns quite harsh and leaves a good bit of heat from the alcohol lingering longer than I’d like. The smoke is gone, the fruits are gone- it’s just abrasive alcohol. This is where some well-aged whisky needed to swoop in and save the dram- but it doesn’t and that’s a shame. Overall, it had a lot more potential than I think it capitalized on. The funky nose and high heat finish really hurt this one on the overall score. 3 stars. Cheers.