Bunnahabhain probably needs no introduction these days, apart from how to pronounce their bottling names. The distillery was established in 1881, by William Robertson, William Greenless and James Greenless. It is the northernmost of the nine Islay distilleries and definitely the most difficult to get to. The name Bunnahabhain is Scots Gaelic for "Mouth of the River". Like most distilleries, the ownership has switched hands a few times. Initially owned by Islay Distillery Company, it was sold to Highland Distilleries Company in 1887. In 2003 it was acquired by Burn Stewart, which in turn merged with Distell in 2014.
Bunnahabhain is a relatively big distillery with a capacity of 2.7M litres of alcohol per annum. They boast 6 Oregon pine washbacks and 2 pairs of stills. Fermentation time is between 55 to 110 hours. Currently the distillery is making about 65% unpeated malts and 35% peated malts, with peating levels sitting around 35-45ppm.
Presenting to use will be whisky specialist and brand ambassador, Emma Cookson. Those of you from Melbourne would recognise her from her time at Whisky & Alement or at the Whisky Shows. Emma was also one of the 25 Bartenders in Drinks World Top 25 Bartenders in Australia.
In this tasting:
6 x 15ml
1) Bunnahabhain 12yo Cask Strength, 55.1% RRP $180
2) Bunnahabhain 18yo, 46.3% RRP $280
3) Bunnahabhain 25yo, 46.3% RRP $600
4) Bunnahabhain Aonadh 2011/2021 10yo Port & Sherry Cask Matured, 56.2% RRP $230
5) Bunnahabhain 2008/2020 11yo Manzanilla Cask Matured, 52.3% RRP $230
6) Bunnahabhain Moine PX Finish 1997/2020 22yo 1661 Btls, 50% RRP $650
When: Wednesday, 29th of June 2022
Time: 6pm - 7.30pm
Where: The Elysian Whisky Bar
Price: $95pp.
Limited seats available, so don't miss out and grab a ticket now!