SMWS Cask: 10.265

On the Beach at Night

Intro: I was interested to start dipping my toes into peated whisky and I wanted to start in its home. I’ve had peated drams here and there but of the bottles I’ve purchased I’ve always avoided peated whisky as it hasn’t tickled my fancy. Well let me tell you palates changes and about two years into having an interest in whisky, I guess I’m obsessed with peated whiskys as well now.

Details:

Distillery – Bunnahabhain

Region – Islay

Age – 10yr

ABV - 57.7%

Cask: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel

Nose: Honestly the peat doesn’t come through in the nose. There’s apricots with candied pecan and a nice scent of sea water.

Palate: Guess I’ve been drinking too many cheap 40% abv bottles. This has deep vapours to it and is strong, deserves a touch of water imo. Much better with a couple drops of water. I can taste the peat now it’s smoky and sweet, maybe the bourbon barrels. It’s waxy and still has some strong vapours.

Finish: Definitely a strong iodine ocean on the finish. I feel like this dram is such a wild rollercoaster of candied fruits to peat then blasted by a strong ocean mist. Certainly lives up to the name a night on the beach, the sweet peat and iodine is a lovely combo.

Value: £75, venturing into the too pricy for a 10-year for my taste. That being said I’d buy this again in a heartbeat and have recently learned that if I think a bottle will be good I’m buying two; one for now one for later!

Overall: I think I’d like this to sit in a cask for about 5 or 10 more years but that’d probably make the price a bit unreasonable. I’m super glad this was my intro to peat and Islay. Seen a lot of hype for Bunnahabhain and I can begin to understand why. I will be on the hunt now for an older Bunnahabhain preferably in a bourbon cask. That being said a wonderful intro to Islay whisky and I can’t wait to visit and try them all, preferably with a bonfire on the beach during a cool autumn night.