Bunnahabhain SMWS 10.165 Sea, sand and soot 11 Years Aged

I picked up this SMWS when I went to the Victoria Film Festival in February 2020, at The Strath (where I also picked up a Shelter Point that I reviewed about a week ago). This was distilled Oct 6 2006 and matured for 11 years in a refill barrel/ex-bourbon, yielding 181 bottles.

The colour is a pale gold. On the nose there is a light peating with lemongrass, toasted oak, vanilla bean and sea spray. Much like the last Bunna, avoid water (despite the very high ABV). Very clean and crisp, refreshing.

On the palate the peat really comes forward, with lemon curd, custard and green banana. Hint of cinnamon. Lots of brine here. Almost syrupy mouthfeel. Delicious.

The finish is spicy with lemon zest and sea salt. This is fantastic stuff, especially if you love your Bunnas peaty. Side by side with the TBWC 10yo? There are so many similar notes of citrus, fruit and brine, it's incredible - but of course what sets them apart is the peat in the SMWS. For me, the TBWC takes the slight edge only because I find the mouthfeel on the SMWS a bit too sticky. But both are brilliant drams. Such a great distillery.

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