SMWS 108.25 Allt-a-Bhainne 8 2012 “Gets your blood pumping!”

The final bottle from that set, and one I was actually pleased to have since it’s a profile I tend to enjoy.

Allt-a-Bhainne 8, 2012 Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 108.25, Speyside Single Malt, 65.9% ABV

Minutia: Distilled in February 2012 and matured in a 2nd-fill barrel for 8 years. This is part of the Heavily Peated flavor profile named “Gets your blood pumping!”. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Yellow gold; 0.5.

Nose: Floral gin, wax, plastic.

Taste: Wax and spice. Green wood. Ash.

Finish: Herbal, earthy, woody smoke. Touch of jam. Long.

Well, it has potential, but it’s just a bit too youthful. If the way that came across was somewhat unappealing to me it could be a good deal better, but that’s the way she goes.

Score: 77

Musical Evocation: Children of Bodom – “Living Dead Beat”

Bunnahabhain 6 2013 SMWS 10.HBR “A horcrux in fiendfyre”

Since I did the 10 sister cask reviews, I thought it would be fun to throw about a dram’s worth of each into a bottle, let it sit for a bit, and review it as a single malt of 10 casks.

Bunnahabhain 6, 2013 Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 10.HBR, Islay Single Malt, ~60% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on Octover 17, 2013 and matured in the variety of casks mentioned in reviews #241-250 for 6 or 7 years, blended together by me, and I put it in the Heavily Peated flavor profile and named it “A horcrux in fiendfyre”. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Deep copper; 1.0.

Nose: Dough, spice, char, must. Slight fruit.

Taste: Hot, woody, honey.

Finish: Charred meat, salt, burnt nuts. Long.

This worked out better than expected, but not as well as I’d hoped. Despite being all peated Bunnahabhain, there were times where I felt “This is like quintessential ___.” That blank was filled in with Laphroaig, Lagavulin, and Ardbeg at separate times. I’ve not yet decided if I’ll drink it now and again, or let it sit a while longer, or maybe use it as the base for a solera bottle, but I’ll be happy enough with any of those realities.

Score: 80

Bunnahabhain 7 2013 SMWS 10.213 "A slice of peat-heaven"

Here and forthcoming are each of my reviews of the Bunnahabhains I have acquired from the same distillation conducted independently.

Bunnahabhain 7, 2013 Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 10.213, Islay Single Malt, 60.5% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on October 17, 2013 and matured a 2nd fill Oloroso Sherry butt for 7 years yielding 577 bottles. This is part of the Heavily Peated flavor profile named “A slice of peat-heaven”. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Old gold amber, 0.6.5.

Nose: Ashy smoke/charcoal.

Taste: Embers, grill char. Something sweet hiding there.

Finish: Smoke, hint of salt. A used pipe. Medium-long.

Really quite nice. It’s not complex, but it is focused on what it offers and does it well.

Score: 87

Musical Evocation: Iron Maiden – “Heaven Can Wait”

Bunnahabhain 7 2013 SMWS 10.211 "War and peat"

 

Here and forthcoming are each of my reviews of the Bunnahabhains I have acquired from the same distillation conducted independently.

Bunnahabhain 7, 2013 Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 10.211, Islay Single Malt, 59.9% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on October 17, 2013 and matured in an ex-bourbon hogshead for 5 years and then a 2nd fill Oloroso hogshead yielding 269 bottles. This is part of the Heavily Peated flavor profile named “War and peat”. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Amber, 0.7.

Nose: Smoke with some punch to it (like what vinegar has).

Taste: Salt/beach smoke. Thick, briny.

Finish: Salty broth. Chocolate wafer.

This is ok. There are some really interesting elements in there and I’d love to have seen more.

Score: 82

Musical Evocation: Burzum – “War”

Bunnahabhain 6 2013 SMWS 10.194 "Maritime marshmallows"

Here and forthcoming are each of my reviews of the Bunnahabhains I have acquired from the same distillation conducted independently.

Bunnahabhain 6, 2013 Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 10.194, Islay Single Malt, 58.5% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on October 17, 2013 and matured in a re-charred hogshead for 6 years yielding 211 bottles. This is part of the Heavily Peated flavor profile named “Maritime marshmallows”. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Russet, Muscat, 1.3.

Nose: Various apple. A touch of banana and tropical fruit. Marshmallow/sugars, which defines itself more over time.

Taste: Smoky before herbal, wood, fruits. Salt, too.

Finish: Smoke, earth. These come in after a fruity flash (berry family) on the swallow.

Quite nice if imperfect. The nose was the highlight again.

Score: 88

Musical Evocation: Buckethead - “Marshmallow”

Bunnahabhain 6 2013 SMWS 10.193 "Simply peat"/"Purest peat"

Initially I earmarked some Bunnahabhain sister casks for a side by side. Between making that decision and now, it started with 3 or 4, grew to 5, then to 6, I gave it a “Devil’s Drams” theme (6 casks, 6 years old, 6 maturation styles), but then it just kept going. I’ve acquired a bunch more and I feel it got a bit too unwieldy for a single side by side post (also kind of tough to side by side so many drams), so I’ve decided to just post them all independently as a series. So, here and forthcoming are each of my reviews of the Bunnahabhains I have acquired from the same distillation conducted independently.

Bunnahabhain 6, 2013 Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 10.193, Islay Single Malt, 60.1% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on October 17, 2013 and matured in a re-charred hogshead for 6 years yielding 256 bottles. This is part of the Heavily Peated flavor profile named “Purest peat”. It was renamed due to TTB nonsense for the 750ml bottle released for the United States which was renamed as “Simply peat”. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Deep gold, 0.8.

Nose: Smoke, seaweed, a fleeting sweetness.

Taste: Earthy, salty, mineral. Smoky/charred wood after. Potent.

Finish: Mineral, dry/woody, a bit of char/ash, some savory element. Long.

This is decent but not spectacular. The nose is the best part, I’ll be trying this with water in the future as I think that would help with the taste and finish being held back a tiny bit.

Score: 85

Musical Evocation: Mayhem – “Pure Fucking Armageddon”