Bunnahabhain's Stiùireadair single malt pays homage to the distillery's shoreline on the north-east coast of Islay. They used whisky matured in first and second fill Sherry casks, with a leaning towards deliciously coastal malt.
Brine, toasted sugar and caramel-drizzled raisins.
Honey-roasted nuts, cinnamon and clove, with a touch of salt sea too.
Sherried peels and chilli-chocolate.
Butterscotch and raisins, sweet and powerful. Moorish.
Tasty and easy access. I prefer a more peaty Islay, but if I was making a recommendation for a reasonably priced but quality starting place for someone's whisky journey this or the Eagle Rare 10 would be up there.
This is what I wish Classic Laddie was. Although it is NAS (but I would 99.9% say it has some age over 3yrs maybe 7-10yrs) and a very much widely available supermarket whisky too this bottle is fantastically represented at 46.3% and Natural Colour. No doubt this is a sweet whisky with a very forward Sherry cask prominence. There is a touch of salt nearly salted honey nut cashews with a slight chili heat toward the finish. For the money this is a fantastic representation from Bunnahabhain. Adding a touch of water brings out the slight brine in my opinion but this still remains sweet and spicy.
I hated this whiskey the first time I tried it, thinking it was harsh, lacking in character. It has now sat on the shelf for 6 months. On this second try I found it a pleasant dram, I got hints of brine but also stone fruit or prune. Will try their other offering in the future.
To me this was the lowest level of whiskey ever tasted. Not recommended and some more years storage would do it a favour.
