When we thought we finally managed to correctly spell Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair, we got reminded that we had to put an accent somewhere. And even if we put it in the right place, it’s always the question if it’s the right or left slanted one. Gotta love these puzzles.
This dram however, isn’t much of a puzzle. It’s pretty straight forward, but in an incredibly enjoyable way. Stuart (the name we gave him) is unpeated and has matured on sherry casks. An example of the house style, but silent about its age. The 46.3% ABV makes up for it. The flavours are surprisingly daring, Stuart isn’t as dull as his 12 year old brother. Not saying the 12y isn’t a good dram, quite the contrary, but it’s just a bit boring compared to the other expressions Bunna is offering. Or maybe we are too spoiled, well, let the notes speak for themselves:
The nose starts off minerally (like wet rocks) and sweet, with papaya, Turkish delight and spicy oak.
Vanilla and sherried wood dancing smoothly around the tongue, evolving intro tropical fruits and lightly spicy tannins with a hint of raisins and nuts.
A medium finish with pineapple, barley and dried fruits, it slowly dries in your mouth leaving hints of dry oak and raisins.
I’m a sucker for dry, oaky and (not too) sweet drams. Especially when there are hints of dried fruits in there, with the casual off-flavour here and there. So for the introductory price point, this is one of my go-to’s to fire off my taste buds at the start of a tasting session. It also works well on a sunny day, sitting with Stuart in the sun is one hell of a moment of relaxation.