Snoof says on August 2, 2023
General description
Doesn't steer as well into the harbour as the Stiuireadair for me....
Nose
Bunnahabhain seems to lag behind Bowmore, Bruichladdich and Lagavulin when it comes to Islay, but my previous experience of the Stiuireadair was excellent. So, the nose… Sherry, smoke, a bit of spice to follow, caramel and sweetness. There’s just a whiff of sulphur perhaps, but quite faint that just gets in the way a little. I may be wrong… My experience of sulphur from the sherry butts, recently, has been that as the glass warms, the sulphur leaves, and this appears to be the case here. Good. Fruit arrives too, later, but gently, maybe like calamondin peel, with a little sweetness.
Palate
Some spice, an almost leather to tobacco moment, and then salty, retuning to calamondin peel and skin, then maybe even some chocolate with peppers though it. The nose has improved with more time in the glass, incidentally, and the fruit flavours have become more juicy, heading to raisin with the spice sharper, much sharper. The sherry appears again, and it’s clear that this one has spent a considerable time in the sherry butts. I don’t get peatiness at all so far…
Finish
Medium-long, with the spice beginning to dry out towards cinnamon right at the end, with a little salt remaining. The fruit all but goes and the flavour profile has narrowed considerably in the finish, without much of the whisky’s character remaining. Overall, this is a good experience, however, it is not in the league of the Stiuireadair at this juncture…
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