Bunnahabhain 12yo
Official Bottling | 46.3% ABV
Score: 6/10
Good stuff.
TL;DR
A delicious lightly peated malt from the haven of heavily peated whiskies
What’s popular isn’t always right, and what’s right isn’t always popular
To be different and standout from the norm takes courage and a whole lot of conviction. But sometimes, standing out from the norm is required for survival.
Over the past decade, we have seen an increase in the number of distilleries—old and new—producing and releasing their own product. Right now, as drinkers and enthusiasts, it has never been a better time for enjoyment and engagement, even if it’s tough at times to get bang-for-your-buck. Not only are we treated to new brands and expressions, but conformity to Scotch regionality seems to be a thing of the past.
You don’t have to go to Campbeltown for industrial notes and funk, nor Speyside for soft fruits and delicate whiskies. With some brands following the unfortunate trend of pumping the prices up for beloved bottles we’ve continually purchased over the years, it’s reassuring to have choice. These days, we can find new experiences everywhere.
These times, however, make you reflect on what decisions were made back when construction of Bunnahabhain distillery was started in 1881. Picture it. You’re on the small island of Islay and, due to the use of peat as a primary fuel source, your typical flavour profile is pungent smoke and salinity from maritime, salty-sea air. You’re also surrounded by established whisky producers such as Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg and Lochindaal/Port Charlotte.
At Bunnahabhain, while peat levels have dropped from the 1960s onwards, they did start life smokier than today, something which has been revived with peated campaigns from the distillery since its re-introduction by Iain McMillan. It seems, in the past, Bunnahabhain was indeed peated, but progressively leaned to a lighter style than its Islay brethren. This was intentional. This is where the adapt-and-survive thing kicks in. The liquid was sold in bulk as a core component for R&B blends: Famous Grouse, Cutty Sark and, eventually, Black Bottle (in fact, all production went into blends for nearly 100 years).
In modern times, changes to the norms of whisky production in a particular Scotch whisky region are welcomed. Along with Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain was one of the first to deviate from the typical Islay profile when alternative fuels were made available and the demand for lighter spirit, without the heavy smoke, increased. At one time, there were 23 active distilleries in operation on the island, so competition to sell liquid was rife.
Bunnahabhain has since been described as a lightly peated malt, with enthusiasts occasionally leaning towards the opinion that there’s no peat whatsoever. However, the distillery buys a proportion of peated malt from Port Ellen as well as unpeated from other maltsters. It’s currently around 3-4 phenols ppm, with annual heavily peated campaigns also running.
As the market for single malts — as opposed to contract fillings for blends — opens up, more options are available to diversify the product offering. This is nowhere more obvious than at the distillery visitor centre, with a myriad of expressions on offer. However, as Wally mentioned in his Bowmore piece, beware of prices as salty as the liquid at times.
“Bunnahabhain’s main water source is drawn from the nearby Margadale river and, seemingly, it’s the only distillery on the island to use spring water.”
All of this got me thinking, though; with the likes of Ardnahoe recently opening on the island, soon to be joined by Port Ellen, Portintruan and the Islay Boys‘ plans at Glenegedale, you wonder, will there be an appetite for more new distilleries in the not-too-distant future? Islay is quite a remote island, and I dare say sending the appropriate resources to the island for building and production is costly, as well as putting further strains on the island’s already stretched infrastructure.
And if so, will there be added desire from Islay whisky makers to produce more non-peated Scotch whisky? We know of occasionally unpeated Caol Ila and Ardbeg as well as other small-scale runs here and there, but not a defined profile or brand. Perhaps a new whisky alongside Bunnahabhain and Bruichladdich; a non-peated malt with less difficult pronunciation, perhaps?
These days, why not attempt to stand out from that norm?
So, a little about Bunnahabhain and its place upon the promised land of Scotch whisky.
The name Bunnahabhain (pronounced 'Bunn-na-ha-ven’), translates as ‘foot of the river’. The distillery is located within the small Islay village of the same name. Founded in 1881, the village was built to house the workers of the distillery. Construction began in January 1883, at the dawn of the ‘whisky boom’ (sound familiar?) following Scotch whisky’s unprecedented growth in popularity within the British Empire.
Bunnahabhain's main water source is drawn from the nearby Margadale river and, seemingly, it's the only distillery on the island to use spring water. Up until the 1960s, the distillery was only accessible by ship, until a new road was built for easier access (although accounts by those who have made the pilgrimage to the distillery mention it’s more of a small track than an actual road). With a little help and investigation from Wally, he was able to point me to some information on the ships used to help transport alternative fuel and barley to the distillery, which then took the whisky ‘exports’ afterwards. These versatile flat-bottomed Clyde puffer ships could be beached on the shore without the need for a quay. Unloading could occur at low tide, then re-floated at high tide to head off to the next port of call — with a hull full of delicious whisky. Delivery of alternative fuel sources allowed for the manufacturing of a lighter whisky on the island, thus Bunnahabhain could pivot and offer a more in-demand liquid of the time. The lighter the liquid, the more volume demand for blends!
In time, the owners invested in a substantial pier which stands to this day, but I discovered that my intuition that building on Islay would’ve been difficult was proven for Bunnahabhain during its construction. Deep into the first building period in an Islay winter, two large boilers were blown off the beach while they were waiting to be fitted. Why build on such a remote part of a small island you ask? Well it seems the decision to build here was not least on account of Robertson & Baxter's close relationship with Bulloch Lade & Company, who were rebuilding Caol Ila at the time, and also because of the plentiful water from Loch Staoisha ( which could also be used to cool the condensers) and the previously mentioned access by sea.
A quick note on the use of ‘Staoisha’ and its further association with the distillery; Staoisha is a trade name used for peated Bunna’, and is lauded as an exceptional malt, being very reasonably priced too. It is often released with a young age statement, which adds more emphasis to the fuller peat flavour on offer.
Initially, the distillery was owned by Islay Distillery group, until it was taken over by Highland Distillery Company in 1887. Highland Distilleries, now Edrington, was formed when Bunnahabhain merged with Glenrothes. Interestingly, Bunnahabhain doesn’t seem to have released any liquid under their own brand until 1979. After briefly being mothballed for two years in 1982, and then low-level production resuming in 1984, Bunnahabhain was sold in 2003 to Burn Stewart for £10m. In 2013, Burn Stewart was sold to its long-term South African distributor, Distell. 2019 saw the start of a 3-year upgrade, with Distell investing £11 million. This work is ongoing and has witnessed the removal of iconic sea-front warehousing but also the addition of more space and a centre for visitors.
Review
Bunnahabhain 12yo, Official Bottling, 46.3% ABV
£45, available widely
The Bunnahabhain 12 was initially launched in the summer of 2010. It soon enjoyed a hike in ABV from 40% to 46.3% and a declaration of no chill-filtration and natural colour. Since then, the bottle has had a change in livery with some rumours of the current batches not containing as much older stock.
This is widely available from most online retailers. A bottle will cost you somewhere between £40 and £45, which some may deem a bit on the expensive side for a 12-year-old Scotch. Each release is composed of a mixture of sherry and bourbon casks.
Nose
Spent matches and rubber atop a pencil. Sharp-ish nose initially. Dense dark fruits with sugar icing on a plain sponge cake. There’s a touch of leather milling around the middle of the nose here, with small blasts of orange zests in the background. It’s quite malty! Warm and toasted malt comes to mind. Soft plums and a little liquorice. A dusting of walnuts rounding off with a large glass of cherry cola with a heap of vanilla ice-cream in the glass too! Lovely.
Palate
The vanilla sweetness comes through right away on the palate, with a thick honeyed mouthfeel. Tip of the tongue is quite tingly. Dark fruits begin to develop slowly alongside some raisins, ground ginger and cinnamon spice. The spice dries off for a charred wood note, which turns a corner into a lovely sweet strawberry jam. The toasted malt from the nose is present also. The taste of large porridge oats soaked in milk is there too with a heap of caramel.
It's a lovely long finish, with some sweet sherry influence. The back end is more of that spice and wood with the sides of the tongue drying out toward the end. With the finishing touches of the sip you can just about pick out some stewed pears and cubed pineapple.
The Dregs
I very much enjoy this whisky, and the fact that it’s essentially a non-peated Islay, it’s almost unique. I can’t speak about previous releases of the 12, and how they may have contained older stock. Nor can I speak about much else besides the 12yo and its hefty brother the 12yo Cask Strength (which is different altogether in comparison…but in a good way). It’s flavoursome, engaging and different from what you’d expect from almost any other bottle that leaves the peaty shores of Islay.
However, it’s becoming a little bit expensive if I’m honest, when this was around the £30 mark not too long ago. Mentioning the cask-strength version of this just briefly again, it’s £75 — which is about £15 too expensive. Price is a big factor to me. This is a great, solid and dependable pour and I hope by the time I finish my bottle that the base price hasn’t crept up further.
I recommend checking out Causeway Coast Phil’s review on the boatload of Bunnahabhain, where Phil reviews some more expressions from the distillery — one might even be peated! It’s a good look into what else is on offer, and some are even available in UK supermarkets.
Is this something I reach past often? Yes, I suppose it is, but again that’s due to how tasty it is. Maybe I don’t want to kill this bottle off too quickly, only to feel a bit miffed at paying over the odds for a 12-year-old Scotch again. The 18yo is way beyond my budget, given that Distell also offer the Deanston 18yo at a very fair price by comparison.
If you see this on offer, get it. For fun, pour it alongside something heavily peated, say the Port Charlotte 10 and/or a Ledaig 10. Just to gauge as to how different in phenolic level this whisky actually is, and how there’s still enough of the maritime element in there to make it scrumptious anyway. Lovely stuff.
Score: 6/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. HF
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