Elements of Islay Bn7

Nose: dark chocolate and raspberry, oaky. Prickly ethanol. Taste: peppery and hot up front. Tingly on tip of the tongue. Berries, red apple, cloves, then chocolate. Maybe almost coffee. Some vanilla cream in the mix as well. Empty glass smells like a candied mushroom. I seem to always enjoy Bunna, and this one is no exception. Thank you @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample!

For our quarterly virtual tasting with @PBMichiganWolverine , @ctbeck11 , @Richard-ModernDrinking and @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington , @PBMichiganWolverine was kind enough to treat us to a round the world assortment of drams. First was a single cask IB 14 year Tamdhu (Scotland) Second was the 2022 Chichibu Peated Edition (Japan) Third was the Chattanooga Islay Finish (America) that was bottled at 47.5% ABV. Fourth might have been a Thomson Saison Yeast Cask #39(New Zealand) that was bottled at 53.4% ABV Fifth might have been this Elements of Islay Bn7 (Scotland) that was distilled in 2001 and aged for more than 16 years in a pair of oloroso sherry butts before being bottled at 55.7% ABV. The nose starts with mildly astringent citrus underscored with light smoke then dark chocolate covered figs and light seaside minerality followed by lightly grilled creamy orchard fruits that transitions to mild baking spices with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting mildly sour before quickly veering towards an ashy bitterness that slowly fades to mocha, mild smoke and seaside minerality then creamy yet slightly sour tropical fruit that transitions to mild baking spices with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length starting with cocoa powder dusted figs that fades to creamy tropical fruits and a light earthy bitterness. I remember liking this a lot more the night we had it together, but tonight I’m finding an astringency that really holds this back from climbing to the heights I’ve found through so many other Bunnahabhain offerings. It’s still a very enjoyable dram that I think many would likely rate higher than me as I tend to be more sensitive towards sour flavors than most.