Four Bunna Casks

Bunnahabhain used to be called 'the only distillery on Islay that doesn't use peat', except that they do!

Here I have 4 single cask releases...

First let's find out a little more:

Bunnahabhain, which means ‘mouth of the river’ in Gaelic, was built in 1881 at the mouth of the Margadale Spring on the shores of the Sound of Islay near to Port Askaig.

Formed as the Islay Distillers Company by William Robertson (of Robertson & Baxter a wholesale whisky blender) in partnership with Greenlees Bros (a Campbeltown company which owned Hazelburn distillery). The distillery was build to supply whisky for blending, it formed the key component in three R&B blends: Famous Grouse, Cutty Sark and Black Bottle. In 1887 Bunnahabhain merged with Glenrothes to form Highland Distilleries.

The first spirit flowed in 1883. In 1963 the floor maltings were removed and the number of stills doubled to 4. During the boom of single malts at the end of the 1980s single malts were launched with the tag-line ‘the unpronounceable malt', some current releases still share that practice! The distillery was closed between 1982 and 2004. Around 1998 the company changed it's name from Highland Distilleries to Highland Distillers and then in 1999 to Edrington Group.

Whilst Bunnahabhain was closed in 2003 the distillery was sold to Burn Stewart who six years later went bust, the distillery was then sold to Distell, it's long-term South African distributor, in 2013.

Heineken bought Distell in 2023 and together with it's sister distilleries Deanston and Tobermory, Bunnahabhain was separated into a separate company CVH Spirits owned by Remgro Limited, a large South African investment holding company. In 2024 Campari Group bought a 15% stake in the company.

A 8.7 ton stainless steel rack and plough mash tun with a copper dome are used to make the wash, mostly lightly peated (2-3ppm) with some peated (35-40ppm) runs known as Moine (peat in Gaelic) or by indie bottlers as Staoisha (the name is taken from the nearby Loch Staoisha where the distillery gets it cooling water from).

Mashtun. Photo: http://lenstalk.com/

Six 70,000 litre Oregon pine washbacks ferment the wash for just over 50 hours.

Washbacks. Photo: http://lenstalk.com/

Two Wash stills and two Spirit stills using shell and tube condenser distil a new make to around 69% ABV.

Still room. Photo: Islay Pictures Photoblog

On site dunnage warehouses, close to the sea, are used to mature the spirit.

Including the world famous Warehouse No.9 where a certain Mr David Brodie holds court!

These drams were part of a Masterclass David held at last year's Kendal Whisky Festival, let's see what they are like!

Dram	2014 Single Cask #2736 Canasta	2019 Single Cask #215 Palo Cortado	2005 Single Cask #333 Manzanilla	2013 Single Cask #120 Moine Bordeaux
Characteristics	D: '14, B: '25 11yo Canasta cask finish 60.9% ABV	D: '19, B: '25 6yo Palo Cortado cask finish 58.8% ABV	D: '05, B: '25 20yo Manzanilla cask finish 49.4% ABV	D: '13, B: '25 11yo Bordeaux cask finish 49.2% ABV
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Dark gold in the Glencairn, swirls cling as a thin line, take a little time to bead up and fall as slow thin legs.	Bronze in the Glencairn, swirls cling as a thin line, take an age to form small beads which eventually fall as slow thin legs.	Bronze in the Glencairn, swirls cling as a thin line, take an age to form small beads which eventually fall as slow thin oily legs.	Bronze in the Glencairn, swirls cling as a thin line, take an age to form small beads which eventually fall as slow thin legs.
Nose	Thick berry jam, a little balsamic vinegar and a hint of smoke or tobacco. There's dark chocolate, walnuts and a lovely honey caramel note but it just keen going back to that thick berry jam! Yummy!	A much more subdued nose: sherried dried fruit, milk chocolate and a hint of berry jam. A little musty. There's an orange marmalade note and a suggestion of spice to come.	Dark and musty - dunnage funk with berries and cherries. Sherry soaked dried fruit, some date hints and a little orange zest. Baked apples, walnuts and a little caramel round things off.	Thick 'dark' smoke to start, there's a fire nearby! If you can get to safety you'll get loads of red berries, some roasted almond, honey and a little caramel.
Palate	Thick oily arrival, mouth coating and sweet. The balsamic from the nose comes to the fore alongside dried fruit, dates, figs and prunes. There's hints of red berries, dark chocolate, toffee pennies and a little cinnamon spice. Yummy!	Thick sweet arrival, very spicy. Milk chocolate covered raisins, strawberry jam and a little sherry. The orange marmalade note from the nose is back, a little spicy but well balanced with the sherry notes.	Sweet fruity arrival, not as thick as the Canasta but sharing some of the balsamic and dark stoned fruit characteristics. A little more jammy, some brown sugar and a little citrus zest.	Another thick, oily arrival, this times it dry and smoky. Berry and cherry jam with a little ginger spice and almond pastries - Bakewell Tarts even?
Finish	Lingering balsamic, berries and cinnamon spice.	Short and spicy with sherry soaked dried fruit and cinnamon spice.	Medium length, sweet and spicy with some lovely sherry notes.	Medium length, berries, cherries, spice and lingering smoke.
Overall	The Canasta is a yummy dram, easily my favourite of the four.  I was expecting great things from the Palo Cortado but ultimately it disappointed, subdued and overly spicy for me. The Manzanilla was another lovely dram, I have a couple of these from Bunna before and they never disappoint. I'm always wary of trying a peated Bunna, it's the 'only distillery on Islay which doesn't use peat' but this one doesn't disappoint - very well balanced once you get past the smoke on the nose.