Bunnahabhain Darach Ur Batch 1

Darach Ùr means ‘fresh oak’ in Gaelic and was launched in 2008 as an exclusive travel retail expression. It was matured in new American oak casks from a family-run cooperage in Bardstown/Kentucky.

The nose is rich and lush with plenty of vanilla, cinnamon and crème brûlée flavours. Then there is a good dose of wood spice but not aggressive and very well integrated.

The palate is medium-bodied, fresh and vibrant. The vanilla flavours are back, now together with notes of caramel, ginger and cereals. There is also a hint of fudge and some lemon notes.

The finish is of medium length and pleasantly warming. Vanilla and ginger flavours last until the very end.

This was an unusual Bunnahabhain in the sense that the virgin oak barrels have given it a freshness that I had not seen in other expressions. I very much enjoyed this vibrant and lush bottling of one of my favourite distilleries. Apparently this has now become somewhat rare, so why not grab a bottle if you see one.

Coming from Islay, this is one of the odd couple. It's unlike Islay. The New Oak (=Darach Ur) is there but it didn't feel unusually strong for my senses. All in all, this is a good whisky. Especially the nose where you can feel the oak.

Nose: Stingy with a fresh new wood feel. Turns into smooth and nutty. Some toffee and walnuts.

Taste: Creamy caramel with salt and pepper. Nutty coffee.

Finish: Finish is quite long and warming, a bit too spicy for my taste but that's only a very small blemish on the overall goodness.

Balance: A very nice mixture of caramel and spices combined with nuts and oak. Good job by Bunnahabhain.

I like the taste, it is like the original Bunnahabhain taste, sweetish taste, reminds me of butterish/caramel or sweet flowers by the sea/salt with hints of pepper.

This Darach Ur has a very spesial oak taste, it is almost overwhelming and hides a lot of other tastes. I tend to like Darach Ur. It reminds me more of a blend of malts than a single malt.

I recommend it for a fair price at taxfree markeds.

Very very light nose. Fresh and clean with a some licorice and malt flavours.

Soft. Again repeats the touch of licorice and very well balanced. A little bit sour kick at the end.

Durach Ur is a new whisky experience, the experiment of using "New Oak" has added an unique nose and finish to the whisky.

The nose barley sweet,dry fruit and most profoundly, its like putting your nose inside a new wooden draw/cupboard or brand new fresh pencil shaving, as if a carpenter is working away in a old fashion sweet shop. Its actually rather appealing.

The palate smooth and i find quite mouth watering, will the oak taste arriving after and taking over, running with your taste bud all the way to the long woody finish.

Its a wonderful new experience (experiment?). Its not going to blow your mind, its not going to be a favorite whisky community discussion (evidently so as I found only a handful of reviews online). But if you are looking for a rather different whisky to add to your collection. This is a great choice.

1-10 (10 being sublime) - 6.

"Darach Ur", means new oak. This bottling from Bunnahabhain is aged in fresh - unused - American oak casks. I picked up a litre bottle from Duty Free, which was its original outlet point only.

Nose: The peat comes across as a smokey, damp peat - fungi and wet woods. The oak comes through with a fruity coca-cola thing going on, and everything comes together to remind me of a caramel-soaked version of the polished floor we used to sit on for Monday morning school assemblies. It's different and intriguing rather than unpleasant, but let's see where it goes.

Body: Dry like raisins and licquorice, the oak comes through with that cola feel to it still. Hold it in the mouth and let it burn a bit, and it seems to fizz and crackle. Some of the damp grass notes from the nose surround the raisins/licquorice.

Finish: The same slightly bitter oaky-raisinness carries on through and lingers a while, leaving one to go back for more without too much surprise or expectation. The Darach Ur, it must be said, feels like more of a blend for the intrigued. It has a certain Islay-bitter-sweet-shop charm, which will appeal hugely to some and not at all to others.

Helpful, huh?