Bunnahabhain distillery is located at Port Askaig on the Northern coast of Islay, directly on the Sound of Islay and offers great views across to Jura and the Paps.

Bunnahabhain was founded in 1881 by the Greenlees Brothers.

1999 Saw the distillery's then owners (Highland Distillers) being bought by Edrington Group and then again in 2003 it was sold onwards to Burn Stewart Distillers, the current owners today.

Photo by Whisky Emporium photography

More great distillery info here, thanks to Malt Madness

Bunnahabhain, 'Darach Ur', 46.3% ABV

Special edition for Travel Retail outlets

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Walnut

Nose: Very aromatic, violets and various other wild Alpine flowers in a sunny meadow. Also hints of freshly sawn wood.

Palate: Initially very smooth and creamy with lots of aromatic flora. Complex.

Finish: Long and enjoyable.

Overall impression: Another marvellous Bunny! Darach Ur means 'new wood' so with a quite young whisky matured in new wood I wasn't expecting too much from this, but oh boy, was I very pleasantly surprised. This is wonderfully aromatic with only hints of freshly sawn wood. It's also as complex as the Alpine meadow of which it reminds me. Marvellous, worth a flight to the UK just to buy it.

Whisky & Chocolate: Fleur de Sel praline by Franz Combination: The salt combines with this smooth and floral, gentle Islay whisky to induce maritime elements which were not present, but are very welcome. Very good! Even the creaminess is enhanced.

Bunnahabhain, 14y, 'Port Wood', Limited Edition, bottle No. 1113 of 1220, 53% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Dark gold, almost amber

Nose: As with all good Bunnies I'm immediately transported to The Atlantic coast, once again walking along a high coastal path, the sea on one side with a briny breeze in my face. On the other side is a quite floral meadow with slightly perfumed banks of heather and bracken. But this has a third dimension, so the actual path ahead is a slightly smoky and peat-paved.

Palate: Initially a smooth and creamy maritime mouthful which is slightly rich, but then the alcohol kicks in to alight the palate with a tingling fire. This needs water.

With 3 drops of water in 2cl: The maritime elements of the nose just came right to the fore and pleasantly dominate, but the palate is much smoother, a little sweeter and is suddenly filled with fruit. I detect some form of red berries and even a little peach over the light peat flavours.

With 4 more drops of water in about 1cl: That fruit has now burst onto the nose and the palate is now very fruity. The smoke and peat have almost disappeared now.

Finish: Very, very long, with or without water.

Overall impression: A marvellous Bunny! The second addition of water was perhaps just a little too far, but this dram definitely benefits from some drops as it opens delightfully to share its fruity secrets with the drinker.

Bunnahabhain, XII 12y, 46.3% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich dark oak with a tinge of copper

Nose: Wood, leather and freshly polished oak, then something very slightly metallic and even a hint of fresh fish.

Palate: Slightly dry with lots of that freshly polished oak, but also including redcurrants and leather. This has a very rich and silky mouth-feel which I do like.

With 4 drops of water: More leather on the nose which is also now a little pungent. The palate has more wood and leather but also a typical Atlantic maritime quality.

Finish: Long, longer with water.

Overall impression: A very good whisky is slightly let down by that pungent, metallic nose with the hints of fresh fish.

Bunnahabhain, XII 12y, 46.3% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed as part of MMA 2011

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich deep amber

Nose: I'm initially reminded of days in the gym at my old juniour school with those rubber gym shoes called plimsoles. In fact this has a quite grainy rubberiness which is accompanied by the light flora of a countryside meadow, maybe even cowfield. Finally some rich dark fruits appear.

Palate: Amazingly creamy but at the same time quite dry, if that's possible? Also black cherries with a lightly smoked rubberiness.

Finish: Long and rich with plenty of that outdoors feel.

Overall impression: A very good and most enjoyable whisky.

Bunnahabhain, XVIII 18y, 43% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich, old dark weathered oak. Maybe more teak.

Nose: A weathered old pier support in the Atlantic. This has old wood, some sherry, ligth smoke and a touch of peat all alongside the inimitable Atlantic Ocean.

Palate: Very smooth but the first notes to announce their presence are typical of sherry and old wood, then comes light smoke, followed by toasted almonds and just a faint hint of peat.

With 3 drops of water in 2cl: The nose develops more complexity, but still based mainly around those sherry notes. The palate opens to allow more of the lighter and complexaspects to shine through.

Finish: Long but slightly bitter right at the end.

Overall impression: This is my second Bunnahabhain in a few days and although I still prefer the Darach Ur thanks to its lighter and more aromatic character, this is a good sherry cask whisky which makes me wonder why Bunnahabhain features in my glass so infrequently. I really should explore the gems of this 'quiet' Islay distillery much more.

Bunnahabhain, XXV 25y, 46.3% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed as part of MMA 2011

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich coppery amber

Nose: I'm reminded of an old pier stretching into the Atlantic from a fishing port with aged wood, lots of sea-air and even a light rubberiness which could be a rubber dinghy tied to the pier. Very aromatic too.

Palate: Creamy rich vanilla before bursts of dry oak, liquid marzipan and a light rubberiness take over.

Finish: Long, very long and rich

Overall impression: Truly excellent, not quite a 'Great', but almost. Although at a price.

Art of Whisky, Bunnahabhain, distilled 1978, 31y, 57.4% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

"Dram-atics" live review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich gold, almost amber

Nose: Aromatic freshly cut wood and peat. After some minutes lots of Alpine flora develop, almost like an Apline meadow in Spring with wood and peat.

Palate: Warming sweet peat with honey, but lots of alcohol burn needing water.

With 4 drops of water in 2cl: The nose develops a more maritime feel whereas the palate is now smooth soft peat.

With 4 more drops of water: The peat intensifies but is still smooth.

Finally 4 more drops of water: All hints of flora have disappeared, leaving lots of maritime peat.

Finish: Very long peat, slightly peppery

Overall impression: Lots of peat, a maritime character and some Alpine flora too. Marvellous!

The Whisky Cask, Bunnahabhain, distilled 1976, 32y, 43.1% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Dram-atics "Advent-urous" live review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Light yellow

Nose: Sweet fruity peat on an Atlantic beach, but right alongside a typically grass and heather covered bank.

Palate: This immediately promotes an extremely unusual sensation where slightly smoky liquorice engulfs the tongue, whilst a sensation of fruits including redcurrant, star-fruit and pears cling to the roof of the mouth, creating a totally split sensation on the palate.

With 4 drops of water: Some smoked bacon adds to the nose whilst the palate loses that 'split' sensation and offers more intensely fruity peat.

Finish: Extremely long.

Overall impression: Totally amazing with those different flavours being split across the palate making it very interesting, but also extremely good!

Single Malts of Scotland, Bunnahabhain, 1979, 27y, 46% ABV

Distilled 31.10.1979 bottled 2.3.2007, Cask 11488, one of 234 bottles

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Dram-atics "Advent-urous" live review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich gold

Nose: Initially lots of peat, malt and popcorn then after some minutes intense exotic fruits appear in the form of mainly kiwi and papaya.

Palate: This begins very peppery and although it's only 46% I feel it needs just a few drops of water.

With 4 drops of water: The nose is now even more fruity with a mixture of pear, star-fruit and green apple, which means it's a little bitter too.

With 4 more drops of water: Smoke now joins the fruit on the nose, whereas the palate is a delightful combination of slightly peppery peach and apricot with added peat and a healthy dose of Atlantic sea-air.

Finish: Very long and even more of that sea-air with the water added.

Overall impression: A very good whisky made even better and more intense with a few drops of water.

Whisky Doris, Bunnahabhain, distilled 2000, bottled 2010, 9y, "Sherry Butt", 59% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

"Dram-atics" live review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Sunny amber

Nose: Massive alcohol burn, but also Smoke and oak with a hint of wax furniture polish.

Palate: Freshly polished rich aged oak. But needs water.

With 4 drops of water in 2cl: Soft, smooth aromatic oak.

With 4 more drops of water: A little more wood appears.

Finally 4 more drops of water: Lots more very aromatic wood, some honey and a maritime element suggests an old jetty protruding into the Atlantic. A little dusty too.

Finish: Very, very long. It seems to grow on the palate rather than just ending. There's a touch of violet in there too.

Overall impression: Lots of character in this whisky make it a most enjoyable, very good Bunny!

Hart Brothers, Bunnahabhain, distilled 1967, 35y, casks 3323 & 3231, 40.5% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Colour: My first impression here is that this is much darker than I expected! I am used to Bunnies being rather pale, this one looks like an old Glenfarclas!

Nose: The nose is also much less maritime than I am used to from bunnies. Those 35 years have really left their mark on this dram! For the third time this week I am left describing the nose of a whisky as having slight hints of liquorice and aniseed. Not at all a typical Bunny!

Palate: Very unusual and unexpected. I really expected a big explosion here. What I received was gentle and almost weak. The flavour corresponds to the nose, slight liquorice and aniseed, but not much else. It is creamy and in a funny way rich, but at the same time, weak in comparison to the promises made by the nose. Some whiskies have a powerful aftertaste, hitting you more than they did in the initial taste. this one is long, but not powerful. That initial flavour stays for a long time, but doesn't get any stronger, it just, well ....., kind of lingers around for a long time.

Overall impression: I am glad I had the opportunity to try this, but I suspect it is quite an expensive dram and to be honest, one which I will not go out of my way to find again. I like Bunnahabhain, but I doubt whether I would pay the price to sample this one again. It is good, but not THAT good.

I have just realised that the Bunny was 40.5%. If this were up around 50% or maybe a little more, then I expect it would have the power I expected from the colour and nose. In that case, it may have been much better than it was.

D. Laing 'Old Malt Cask', Bunnahabhain, distilled 1989, bottled 2006, 50% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: Salt, sea-air, seaweed and malt. With a little kelp and even a hint of rubber dingy.

Palate: Another Islay jetty! Sea, smoke, sand. Slightly oily and woody.

With water: More salty with a hint of aniseed.

Overall Impression: Very nice and a very long, salty finish when a drop of water is added.

Weiser, Bunnahabhain, distilled 19.12.1977, bottled 4.5.2006, 28y, 45.1% ABV

'The Whisky Trader' edition, refill sherry butt

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Nose: Warm liquorice

Palate: Initially dry, but soon turning sweeter with delicate nuts, and gentle fruits

Overall Impression: A jolly good Bunnahabhain, not overpowered by sherry

Wemyss, Peated Bunnahabhain, 1997, 46%

Labelled as 'Sandy Seaweed'

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Spiegelau

Colour: Extremely pale, almost like water with just a dash of fresh lemon juice.

Nose: A French cheese stall below decks in the engine room.
Let me explain as it isn't as bad as this may sound; there's definitely an aroma of quite aromatic cheese, plus what I refer to as bilge pumps. I guess this also means the sea, but in a way slightly associated with oily engines.
With a little time the Atlantic sromas come to the fore and the cheese and bilge pumps recede.It also has a slightly sweet nose.

Palate: Initially much stronger on the palate than the nose, quite surprisingly so! I would have also guessed more like 50% than 46% from the tingle and initial alcohol feel in the mouth.
This is a true maritime dram, not so salty as it is slightly more sweet, but the sea is definitely there and with time the nose is getting a little more smoke.

Finish: Long and pleasant.

With a couple of drops of water: The immediate effect of 2 drops of water is to remove the smoke from the nose. As for the palate, the overall flavours are reduced and the finish becomes much shorter.

Overall Impression and comments: This is my first peated Bunny and it is a very pleasant dram. It noses almost like a Caol Ila which happens to be one of my favourite distilleries, but on the palate, it is indeed a different beast altogether.

My recommendation: Forget the water!

Wemyss, Peated Bunnahabhain, 1997, 46%

Labelled as 'Bonfire Embers'

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Spiegelau

Colour: Very pale yellow

Nose: A Summer evening in Provence, Tuscany or even in an Alpine Meadow.
My initial thoughts when nosing this dram were of a sweet, slightly perfumed and floral nose, something like a countryside of wild flowers letting off their mixed aromas after a day of hot sunshine.
If I were asked to place this dram only from the nose then I would probably not say Islay. It has floral attributes over a slightly maritime feel, but lacking any real smoke or peat at this stage.

Palate: Surprisingly tame and short. It's really hard to place any distinct flavours other than one of faint liquorice which fades almost immediately.

With 2 drops of water: The nose really doesn't change and as for the palate, this is now much smoother and more creamy in feel, with more of tingle (or spiciness) which I usually associate with younger whiskies, but the finish is considerably longer. The flavour still doesn't say much to me other than faint liquorice and maybe a little malt.
The aftertaste has a very slight elemnt of smoke, but only after a few sips and some time.

Overall Impression and comments: The first of the two Bunnies (Sandy Seaweed) surprised me in a quite pleasant way. This one had a very interesting nose with the floral notes, but the palate disappointed. I would recommend Sandy Seaweed over this (Bonfire Embers), but again, this is my opinion and my palate we are speaking about.
I also had to use the full sample to get the notes correct on the second one, whereas I only had to use half of the sample for the first. Thankfully I have a little left to revisit that one another day.

't Woest Genoegen, Bunnahabhain, 8y, 54%

Oloroso Cask, Dutch Whisky Club, bottle 113 of 120

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich dark teak

Nose: Brand new Pirelli P1 filled with currants and plums and marinated in Oloroso sherry.

Palate: Starts incredibly smooth before developing a little pepper. Then along come dark fruits, dark chocolate, a hint of orange and light rubber & leather.

With 5 drops of water: That Pirelli is enhanced on both nose and palate.

With 5 more drops of water: More aromatic dark fruit and wood on the nose, also with less Pirelli. The palate is in full agreement with the nose.

With 5 more drops of water: The nose is now filled with those dark fruits (currants, figs, plums), whereas the palate has plenty of wood and dark chocolate to accompany the fruits. Much less Pirelli too.

With a final 5 drops of water: The nose now has aromatic wood, a little smoke and just a touch of Atlantic sea-spray. Once again the palate pretty well agrees with the nose whilst being even smoother.

Finish: very long and even longer with water.

Overall Impression and comments: I have only just opened this bottle for the first time and regarding the Pirelli rubber, I may expect it to change after a few days reaction with a little air, so I'll definitely be coming back to this within the next week or so. I don't usually like so much rubber in a whisky, but this one really isn't bad and, as I drive an Alfa Romeo I'm not too averse to a little Pirelli here and there.

This whisky has lots of power and development for an 8y which tells me this was a pretty good sherry cask.

As promised I am trying this again after some time, in fact it's about 3-4 weeks after the bottle was originally opened:

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich dark teak

Nose: The rubber effect has definitely faded and is not so prominent, although there is still some evidence as I note "a hint of rubber dinghy tied to an Islay jetty". Behind this are dark cherries and toasted currants which offer a rich dark fruit experience, along with roasted chestnuts.

Palate: Very rich and slightly smoky with a suggestion of Atlantic sea-air, but all alongside that hint of rubber dinghy.

With 4 drops of water: More rubber comes to the nose, but at the same time there's much less of it on the palate as the dark fruits and smoky peat vie for prominence.

With 4 more drops of water: There's now much less rubber on the nose and the palate is even fruitier with peat and pepper too.

Finish: very long and even longer with water.

Overall Impression and comments: This has definitely improved with time!

MMcD Bunnahabhain, 1990, 19y, 49.8%

Mission 'Gold Tin' series

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Finely polished teak

Nose: Initially floral wood with a mixture of nuts which are primarily almond & walnut with a suggestion of hazelnut. Over some minutes in the glass the whisky develops a light fruitiness and then a delightfully floral smokiness.

Palate: A creamy smooth mouth-feel develops a pepperiness which suddenly bursts forth with coconut. As the coconut fades some aged wood and fruit notes take over and lead into the finish.

Finish: Somehow it feels as though the finish will be quite short as it quickly appears to fade, only to return  and then just keep going and going and going ....... Very long.

Overall Impression and comments: Bunnahabhain has always been one of my favourite distilleries, often overlooked by many, but they do produce some excellent whisky. This is just one example, I really like it!

BBR "Berry's Own" Bunnahabhain, 1979-2011, 54.7%

Sherry Cask No.1794, for Whisky Live Taipei 2011

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€ to €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Very dark, liquid treacle toffee

Nose: Marinated dark fruits, possibly in amaretto, changing slightly over 2-3 minutes into toasted cheesy teacake, with the faintest hint of rubberiness. This is all delightfully and lightly toasted but far from burnt, although I am reminded of glowing bonfire embers on an Atlantic beach.

Palate: A very rich and fruity wood immediately engulfs the whole palate and then expands even further as rich fruit, nuts (primarily walnut) and glowing bonfire embers all vie for supremacy.

Finish: Extremely long, rich, fruity, wood, light smokiness.

Overall Impression: Wonderful, exceptional. A true 'Great'.

Excl. Malts Bunnahabhain, 24y, 1986, 50.9%  (Refill Sherry Butt) bottle No.97 of 561

Cask No.1283, for Whisky Live Taipei 2011

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed as part of MMA 2011

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Rich glowing amber

Nose: Initially fruity rubber before gently smoking embers appear. A great depth of dark fruits with custard begin to emerge after 2-3 minutes, then sea-air adds to smouldering wood. Did someone set fire to an Atlantic jetty or pier?

Palate: Dark fruits (plums, raisins, figs) with marzipan, then damp smoky wood and always delightfully creamy smooth mouth-feel.

Finish: Long and creamy smoky fruit.

Overall Impression: Excellent! An extremely good whisky.

W&M "Barrel Selection" Bunnahabhain, 42y, 1986-2011, 45.5%

Cask No.3, Bottle No.20 of 224

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed as part of MMA 2011

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Dark gold, rich dark oak

Nose: Initially light fruits, then vanilla, wood and hints of banana. Eventually some creamy toffee with a suggestion of walnut before dark fruits appear after some further minutes in the glass.

Palate: The fruitiness and vanilla come immediately to the fore, but in a slightly dry way. These are followed by slightly smoky dark cherries.

Finish: Long and woody, but slightly dry.

Overall Impression: Another exceptional, nay 'Great' Bunnahabhain. Expensive maybe, but Majestic it definitely is.

Adelphi, Bunnahabhain, 31y, 1979-2011, 46.5%

Cask No.8893, one of 516 bottles

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Reviewed as part of MMA 2011

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Dark teak, liquid treacle toffee.

Nose: Very rich dark fruits (plums, figs & black cherries), then freshly polished antique furniture which slowly develops a smokiness over passing minutes. This is all rich, very rich and constantly improving with time in the glass.

Palate: Massive sherry explosion with dark fruits and aged oak all dancing on the front of the palate whilst the sides water with delight.

Finish: Very long, woody and fruity.

Overall Impression: Once again Bunnahabhain produce a 'Great' whisky. Exceptional!

The Whisky Exchange, Bn1,  55.7% ABV

"Elements of Islay" range

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Live Dram-atics review

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Pale yellow

Nose: Immediately brings to life the idea of a beach bonfire set in a car tyre as smoke, peat & glowing embers combine with a light rubberiness and even a hint of raspberry. But it doesn't end there as after some minutes there's a distinct hint of smoked bacon being grilled on that beach BBQ.

Palate: smooth and light, then offering a light rubberiness, Atlantic sea-air and light smokiness with a generous helping of fruitiness.

Finish: Long and light with smoke and fruit.

Overall Impression: Excellent, a very, very good Bunnahabhain.