Staoisha is the name given by independent bottlers for heavily peated Bunnahabhain, the name is taken from a loch on Islay close to the distillery. These drams tend to be on the younger side and are usually single casks at cask strength.
In this review I'm looking at two from 2013, one from A.D. Rattray and the other from The Whisky Barrel.
The name Bunnahabhain means ‘mouth of the river’ in Gaelic, the distillery was built in 1883 near the mouth of the Margadale Spring. Bunnahabhain is the 'newest' distillery on Islay if you exclude the recent building of Kilchoman and Ardnahoe.
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| Photo: @davidjbrodie |
The distillery has always produced un-peated whisky and most of their output is still that way. Thirty years or so ago they started experimenting with heavily peated barley, some of this has found its way into the hands of independent bottlers.
| Dram | A.D. Rattray 2013 (5yo) | TWB 2013 (6yo) |
|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | 60.1% ABV Bourbon Hogshead Cask Number 10537, 342 bottles | 59.7% ABV First Fill Bourbon Barrel Cask #TWB1009, 235 bottles |
| Bottler info | Nose: Tarry rope, seaweed, toasting marshmallows and cloves. Palate: Beach fire smoke, sea salt, and unmistakable Islay peat. Finish: A brackish, dry smoke lingers like a murky sea haar. | Nose: Minerals, peat smoke, brine, vanilla and milk chocolate. Taste: Sea salt, bonfire smoke, toasted oak and vanilla. Finish: Endless oily and smoky finish with chocolate and tobacco. |
| My thoughts: | ||
| Appearance |  | |
| Pale gold in the glass, swirls create a hairline crack, bead up slowly and fall as thin slow legs | Mid gold colour, swirls bead up and fall as slow thin legs. | |
| Nose | Bonfire on the beach stuff - smoke, maritime breeze - very reminiscent of Caol Ila. A little orchard fruit. The ABV is very evident. | More of a sweet smoke note with this one - some tropical fruit and a hint of citrus. |
| Palate | Thick arrival, very spicy, the ABV makes itself known. Huge smoke notes and a fizzy citrus on the tongue. Orchard fruit notes linger as the liquid disappears. | Again a thick arrival, but this time slightly oily, sweet tropical fruit notes and slightly drying. The smoke isn't as intense as the A.D. Rattray. |
| Finish | Long smoky finish with a little sour citrus - a little drying. | Again long and lingering but this time fruit rather than smoke. The smoke is quite subdued on the finish - quite different from the Rattray. |
| Overall | As far as I know Bunnahabhain don't use the Staoisha name for any of their own whiskies, but tend to go with Mòine, pronounced moy-nya and meaning ‘Peated’ in Scots Gaelic. The Toiteach A Dhà is a lightly peated dram which is well worth finding. There are lots of Staoisha available from many different bottlers but for two similar aged, ABV and matured drams they were surprisingly different.The smoke notes were much more dominant on the Rattray than the TWB, the TWB was more fruity - more like a standard Bunna. Both drams, and a couple of other Staoisha I've tried, have been good, the peat is isn't your typical Islay medicinal style, but the intensity does seem to vary. All have nice fruit notes and they tend to hide their youth very well, don't let the single digit put you off - buy a bottle! | |
Many thanks to @WhiskyNibs for the drample swaps!
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