Whisky : Bunnahabhain 11 Year SMWS 10.175 “Pork scratching eau de vie”

Country/Region : Islay

ABV : 61.0%

Cask : Refill Hogshead

Age : 11 Years (Distilled 3 Oct. 2007)

Nose : Sinus clearing smelling salts and bile.  There is an unpleasant stink to this one; scalded milk, slightly spoiled milk, or—if you’ve ever worked in a cafe, ice cream shop, or other milky occupation— the smell of your clothes or apron after a long shift (or maybe a few shifts without washing).  Beyond the milk is some sugary vanilla syrup, a few wedges of green apple, and the light grassiness of an old lawn mower.

Palate : Exceptionally salty salt and vinegar chips.  It is a bit astringent with mildly bitter herbal notes.  Vague fishy-meaty maritime notes come through as salted mackerel or pickled herring.  A fish ‘n chips with a strongly herbal fennel dip.

Finish : Despite the salt on the palate, the dram fades quickly towards sweet sugars and just a hint of oily fish.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Pickled Herring Cotton Candy.

Something Better : Douglas Laing’s Rock Island 18Y (similar salty maritime, more fish/citrus)

Something Similar : Ichiro’s Malt Wine Wood Reserve (similar vinegar & chips, loads of wine funk)

Something Worse : Glenallachie 7 Year SMWS 107.17 (similar spoiled milk, more candy/sugar)

Notes : I expected a bit more from this bottle— though that seems to be the story of almost every SMWS Bunnahabhain that I have tried.  The nose and the palate really did not quite match up.  The nose was delightfully nostalgic for the time I spent working in a coffee shop, but the palate was something else entirely, falling somewhere in the dark alley between candy store and chip shop.  While the nose was right in line with what I would expect from a lightly peated bunnahabhain, grass and salt, the palate dove far deeper into maritime notes.  The salty notes really did not have much to play off against— there was no funky cheese, or burning drift wood, or tropical fruits— it was just salty sea and maybe a bit of pickled fish.

This may be a solid Bunnahabhain for those who count themselves fans of the distillery. This dram just was not quite up my alley though it did grow on me some over time.