Whisky : Bunnahabhain 9 Year SMWS 10.192 “Deep and complex, sweet and earthy”

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 60.8%

Cask : 7Y Ex-Bourbon, 2Y 2nd Fill Moscatel

Age : 9 Years (Distilled 27 Sept. 2010)

Nose :  Fruity and rotten, this alternated between pleasant notes of champagne jellies and orchard fruits on one side and the sweet decay of a mangrove swamp on the other.  Notes of saltwater ponds, mud flats, cat urine, lantana, overripe fruits, and bruised apples.

Palate : Medium bodied with the sharp sweet notes of overripe fruit, grass, and musty old cabinets.  Faintly medicinal with stronger notes of tar, algae and saltwater.  A sweeter side came through with salted toffee, roasted nuts, and raisin-walnut pastries.  On the backend were notes of Chinese boiled peanuts, dry herbs or menthol, and sweet oolong milk tea.

Finish : Lingering sweetness of burning wood, saltwater, and orchard fruits.

Score : 3

Mental Image : Alley Cat Brunch Feast

Notes : This has got to be a love it or hate it whisky and I barely know where I fall.  This was incredibly interesting with a lot going on in the glass, but finding a note that reminded me of cat urine was just not pleasant.  I have been told the sulphur compound at work there might be p-mentha-8-thiol-3-one which can sometimes come off as an herbal lantana or cat urine at a weaker concentration, or blackcurrants when stronger.  

I usually dig the rotting fruit and mangrove notes whenever they appear on a Bruichladdich, but this was on the sweeter side which left the impression of boozy bruised fruits.  There was still plenty for me to enjoy between some of the intense coastal notes and the almost herbal-cream oolong tea toward the end.  I just could not get past the impression of stray cats living in a dumpster behind a brunch joint.

Overall, a really interesting dram, though one that hit some odd notes on my palate which made it hard to love.  I suspect if I did not get cat urine and lantana on this I would have enjoyed it a great deal more, so if you try it and do not get that note, I have no doubt you will have a better experience.