“Peat, Rubber and
Fruity New Make Spirit”
Country: Scotland
Region: Islay
Brand: Elements of Islay BN4 Bunnahabhain
Bottled By: Specialty Drinks Ltd.
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: NAS
ABV: 54.5 %
Colour: Light Golden
Nose: Heavy Sweet Peat, Wet Clay, Rubber, PVC Pipes, Resin, Toasted Barley, Old Leather, Salted Meat, Shell Fish on the BBQ, Heather and other Floral notes, Sugar, Vanilla, Lemon-Pepper and Dried Herbs. The Peat becomes more mellow once you let the Spirit get lots of air contact. The Floral notes become stronger as well. This certainly leaves the Elements more in balance but also a little less interesting. In any case, the difference is quite noticeable. The Alcohol is there of course but it remains within reason.
Palate: Sweet Peat, Smoke, Wet Clay, Rubber, Young Fruity New Make Spirit, Smoked Fish, Shell Fish on the BBQ, Salted Butter, Peanuts, Vanilla, Pepper, Licorice and Lemon. On the Palate the Alcohol is a bit more present.
Finish: Sweet and Spicy. A little Bitter towards the end with Sweet Peat, Wet Clay, Smoke, Rubber, Fruity New Make Spirit, Salted Peanuts, Sugared Tea, Pepper, Lemon, Menthol, Licorice and a hint of Cow Manure. I think that the Finish is the best part of this Bunnahabhain.
I added a couple of drops of water. On the Nose the Spirit is a little less Edgy. I also get some more Salt and Dried Herbs. I also find a little extra Fruit on the Palate. But the Finish becomes too Thin for my taste. The high ABV allows you to experiment with a little Water though.
Rating: 83
Nose: 21 - Taste: 20 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
General Remarks: The BN4 is the 4th Bunnahabhain release by Independent Bottler Specialty Drinks. Each release in this series is a Blend of between 5 and 20 casks, is naturally coloured, not Chill-Filtered and bottled at Cask Strength. The BN4 matured in Ex-Bourbon casks. It won't be easy to find a bottle right now but if you do you will probably pay an average 65 US Dollars for 0,5 liter.
Bunnahabhain (Mouth or Foot of the River) Distillery was founded around 1881 and is located close to Port Askaig. Usually, the Distillery dries the Malt with hot air or light Smoke, giving their whisky a more subtle flavour than most of its Peated neighbours on the island. But they also produce peated expressions like this BN4. Their peated spirit is also used in the Black Bottle Blend.
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion: I must confess I'm not too familiar as yet with peated Spirits from Bunnahabhain. Judging by the Elements however peating at this distillery is a serious business. When I opened my little sample bottle the Heavy Peat Aromas spread rapidly through my room. They really dominated the Nose. Over time and with sufficient air contact however, the Peat retreats somewhat and as a result Peat and Fruity New Make Spirit become more balanced. There are other Aromas and Flavours to be found as well of course as you saw from my notes above. But they are all quite understated when compared to the main drivers Peat, Wet Clay, Fruity New Make Spirit, Rubber and Spices. Not at all a bad combination and quite drinkable. But the Spirit is also quite young and lacking depth and subtlety. For this reason the BN4 is perhaps a tad too expensive.
Jan van den Ende March 26, 2015
