My third Bunnahabhain after the 12-yo and the Ceobanach.
The neck pour had this nice malty nose.
In later pours, the nose was interestingly more alcoholic and thin at the beginning - after swirling it became better. Sherry - not much of it.
I might prefer the 12-yo (did not compare it head to head yet). The Stiùiredair is on the sweet and grainy side as well, but with less caramel/vanilla notes. No peat. But I was a bit bothered by the alcoholic and stingy nose (like Kirschschnaps) - maybe this will disappear with open-bottle age. Maybe it is this what they call „coastal“- indeed a bit salty.
The mouthfeeling here is less creamy/full than in the 12-yo.
A bit bitterish - more oak ? (NAS - so it must be younger).
At the end, this is an ok dram, though.
But I enjoy the 12-yo much more.
2.75/5
Retasting 03.12.2021:
The bottle has been opened 2 months ago.
And I have to admit, it‘s getting better.
The alcoholic sting is much less present now. Now the sherry is clearly there.
Actually I quite enjoy it now…
Upgrade from 2.75 to 3.0 now.