Duncan Taylor 2014 | 53.7% & 53.9% ABV

Score: 5/10

**Average.**
***TL;DR***
*Dang near twins.*

No Bunnahabhain forever, then two come along at once.

The Bunna floodgates have opened, and I’m lapping it up. At least in a responsible way.

For the longest time, Canada enjoyed a very active Bunnahabhain brand ambassador and we had plentiful supply of the ubiquitous Islay stalwart. But it would appear that all good things must come to an end as this rep, who is still active in Canada, is no longer involved with the brand.

I won’t go into the backstory here because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter to you. The direct cause-and-effect however, is worth mentioning. After the stocks dried up in local stores, we noticed that the prices became elevated and only the 12 and the odd NAS core range offerings (with horribly unpronounceable names) were available for a couple of years.

Talk about a whisky desert. Except I don’t live in a whisky desert at all, it’s quite an oasis compared to many places in North America. So in this instance, it definitely was the passion of the rep that drove the influx of the larger core range and special edition whiskies, and perhaps kept the prices in check. But now that’s all changed.

We’ve received the 18yo, 25yo, 40yo, the 2023 Feis Isle Canasta and just recently the 2024 Feis Isle Ruby Port. And as a side bonus, the increase in stocks has resulted in the lovely 12yo going on discount every few months, returning that beauty to the drinking lineup rather than hoarding boxes! Life is grand isn’t it? Just when you think the bleakness will continue, a ray of light pops up to brighten your day.

Now I did mention I’m being responsible. After all, these big aged stated core ranges do indeed command a certain price, and that particular point is just high enough that I’m not even tempted to take a swipe at the 18yo. Perhaps if a good discount is tossed its way during a Christmas sale or something. But that being said, I did grab the 2023 and 2024 unpeated Feis Isle releases for very attractive prices after consulting some UK-based online retailers. Funny how that works hey?

These will be popped in short order here, especially with fall right around the corner for us in Canada. Plus, buying Feis releases without actually travelling there seems to be a very cheap way to get your hands on the whisky without the costs of travelling to Islay.

In the period of Bunna neglect, these two peated Bunnahabhains were the only ones available at attractive prices and intriguing backgrounds. For all intents and purposes, these casks appear to be cousins. Both peated Bunnahabhains, owned by the same independent bottler, filled around the same time frame, and bottled around a similar time frame.

The primary difference could arguably be that they are using distinctly different cask sizes, and both are single cask expressions. I snatched these in early 2023, and after a Colonial splinter cell meeting later that year where I was prompted to crack one of these Bunna’s by the Ogilvie and Calder fanboys. Off we go!

Review 1/2

Bunnahabian 7yo, Duncan Taylor, Peated - Cask 381 40 108471, 53.7% ABV
£50 ($85 CAD)

Score: 5/10

**Average.**
***TL;DR***
*A dockside dram.*

Nose

Tarry ropes, gooey cooked dates, wet beach wood. Noticeably sweeter smelling than the Octave variant. Cool morning seaside docks with that ozone, seaweed, and briny note wafting along. Oyster shell and light blotting of weak savoury sauce.

Palate

Waves of bitter nuttiness, peat nibbling alongside a good black pepper bite. Underneath, some heavily charred notes, not unlike a near-burnt fish fillet with equally charred green veggies (this whisky is not vegetal at all, just what my mind is equating the taste towards). Then the nutty, black pepper, and dry peat trio wades back in and gently fades away. The finish is medium in length and pleasantly peppery and peaty.

With water, it makes it much easier drinking with the peppery bite significantly tamed down, now revealing a tannic bite nibbling away. The seaside dock ozone thing from the nose is now on the palate, with a umami dried seaweed note and chewing on a creel coming through. Fickle, but fun!

The Dregs

This does not have the sweet notes that are often associated with sherry. After my recent Sherrygeddon event, I’ve been very very humbled with how sherry actually tastes and how we, as “whisky reviewers” often misrepresent or incorrectly describe notes such as “sweet sherry notes”. In reality, very few sherries are actually sweet, and most are quite dry.

Fortunately this whisky is not sweet at all and therefore I can avoid falling into that trap. It’s a good dram but far from mind-blowing. It is more interesting and has different hooks than commonly found in peated and sherried drams. That being said, I score whiskies at the inverse ratio of the bottle level, and for these two whiskies (spoiler!), the level just isn’t dropping fast enough for me to say that I rate this highly enough.

Score: 5/10

Review 2/2

Bunnahabhain 7yo, Duncan Taylor “The Octave”, Peated - Cask 3836309 (9mo in Sherry Octave), 53.9% ABV
£44 ($75 CAD)

Score: 5/10

**Average.**
***TL;DR***
*Glimpses of umami but not enough.*

Nose

Immediately, tickles my nose in a similar manner like the acrid smell of burning tarry ropes. It is less expressive and more muddied together than the Single Cask variant yet the similarities are incredible. The seaside dock notes now overpower the gooey cooked dates.

Palate

What an interesting turn of events. Sweeter than the Single Cask variant now. Brown sugar and walnut crusted roast salmon. Salty lox and capers. A thin trace of savoury umami undertone in the first half not unlike some soy or balsamic vinegar drizzled on the lox, before being trodden over by the pepper and peaty latter half that is very similar to the single cask. The finish is a little shorter but ultimately quite similar as well.

With water, it makes it less interesting but much easier drinking with the peppery bite significantly tamed down and the savoury notes toned down as well, turning it into an easy sipping sherried peater.

The Dregs

Could I tell the difference or role that the octave played here? Aside from the variations associated with single cask releases, which can actually be quite wide in reality, these whiskies are nearly identical and really only sussed out when side-by-side tasting. This get’s the ‘ole 5-er score owing to the easy-drinking nature with water. I wouldn’t hesitate to pour for guests with a sploosh of water.

Both of these Duncan Taylor Bunna’s, aside me from buying these on a bit of a discount and very likely far below global RRP, seem to miss the distinct savoury and umami-like notes that my fellows Ogilvie and Calder seem to find. Is it me or the whisky?

I pick up on the distinct black pepper and peppercorn notes that seem to come along with peated Bunna, according to my colleagues here at Dramface, and my official bottling of Toiteach-a-Dhà.

Being a fan of the savoury vein of bromatology (study of food), I’d like to think I’d pick up on similar notes here. Despite the odd glimpse here and there, they’re far from prominent in the experience and relegates both of these whiskies into the average camp.

Unfortunate given the attractive prices I paid for these, but perhaps that is why these were priced attractively to begin with? Hard to say from my side as the self-funded consumer.

Score: 5/10

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. BB

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