Bunnahabhain Cruach Mhòna

Smoky. Flavor stays at the front of the tongue, which is different for me. Some spice in the finish. Tasty, but prefer the Laga and Ardbeg peaty offerings.

Peated and winey. Tanins from wine and barrel. Balanced. Intense.

Bunnahabhain, that one Islay distillery with the hardest name, the unpronunceable expressions, and the most different tasting notes of them all. Having said that, i mostly like their whiskies, they give me interesting experiences, and it even have one expression (Moine) that made into my top 10 affordable whiskies of 2020. But this Cruach Mhòna, is not one of those great whiskies. "Cruach Mhóna" is not a martial art if you were wondering it, it is the gaelic term for a "drying pile of peat bricks", which of course mean this one is a peated expression of "Bunna" which is mostly famous for their unpeated range. Bottled at 50%abv, tawny color. On the nose, it is acceptable. Starts pretty grapy, to then develop a earthy peatiness, with hints of vanilla/chocolate. Nice perfumed peat, lavender; there is some citric aroma growing here. Hay, heather. After a first sip, it revealed more vanilla and sand. Palate is very unbalanced. Starts peaty right away, which i believe was nice, but then a salt bomb appeared. A little meaty, SUPER SALTY. A couple more sips revealed a dim vanilla note, but mostly a overload of salt. Aftertaste was a little better, but still very dissapointing and a little off-putting. Peat, hay, slight vanilla. A sparkling peppery note that felt like crazy dips popping. Then... SALT. It is like eating a spoon full of salt, like you are having an overly salted piece of meat. Not good. Overall, i wish i could have avoided this, and the nose saves it a little. I even wanted to stop drinking it before i finished the glass. Felt extremely salty, i don't know if someone likes this, but maybe there is. Im not a fan, my score for it is a very generous 63 over 100. Thumbs down.