Signatory Bunnahabhain 1973 47.9%

Tasting Notes

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: old school from the first whiff; chocolate shavings on a foamy cappuccino; soooh chocolaty: Carnation Hot Chocolate mix, Glosset Raisins, and Eatmore candy bars; dried dark fruits to start, then more tropical ones with papaya and kiwi notes; smooth old leather and agave nectar. 

Palate: oh damn, this is sit down and take your time whisky... shame I don't have much of that, and only a wee sample to work with... cue tiny violins; still very old school, soft sherry tones, firm but smooth old leather, musty dunnage warehouse notes and loads more chocolate: chocolate mouse, Glossets, Eatmore and Carnation hot chocolate made with love (slowly with milk, not water); gentle spices, more tropical fruits, and decadent syrups. 

Finish: long and coating, the notes from the palate ease into the finish leaving the former watering, thirsting for more; fresh and a little minty as the curtains draw. 

Comment: this is a lovely single malt, the kind of dram many of us took for granted a decade ago, and which now are truly the proverbial needle in a haystack; this is the sort of magic which can only happen with time, and which is never guaranteed.

91pts Whisky Fun

"I brought this little baby back from my latest visit at Edradour. Signatory have had some great Bunnies in the past… Colour: certainly refill indeed, since it’s golden. Nose: it’s the most floral Bunnahabhain since we started this little series. Lilac, lilies of the valley, roses… Then light all-flower honey, various aromatic herbs (wormwood?), then more raisins and dried plums. Sweet ham. I often write this, but it does remind me of some great old Sauternes. No, this time, it’s true ;-). Mouth: magic! Really punchy, with not one iota of fragility or over-oakiness, shock-full of earthy dried fruits (I’m think Turkish small figs), and becoming meatier, in a gracious way. No big beef, rather ham again. Ham and figs, did you know about this great combo? The strength is utterly adequate, you do not have to intellectualise it to enjoy it to the max – which sometimes happens with very old whiskies. Finish: medium, jammy, almost fresh, without any traces of any obvious woodiness. Rooty raisins and Saharan mint tea in the aftertaste. Comments: another coup by Signatory Vintage, bottled at just the right time. SGP:561 - 91 points."

Distillery

Originally written by Evan for a blog post relating to KWM's 2020 Whisky Calendar.

Bunnahabhain Distillery is the northernmost distillery on Islay – it lays off the beaten path and is somewhat remote even when compared to the rest of the island. The distillery was actually only reachable by boat until the 1960s, when a road was finally built to it. Bunnahabhain is one of a trio of Scottish Single Malt Distilleries owned by Burn Stewart (Distell Group).

Burn Stewart and its parent company also own Tobermory Distillery on the Isle of Mull which we discussed on both on Day Four and Day Seventeen. and Deanston Distillery which resides on the Scottish mainland in Perthshire. Like its siblings, most of the flagship single malts Bunnahabhain range are bottled unchill-filtered and with no added colouring at the curious but commendable strength of 46.3% ABV.

Like many Scottish distilleries, Bunnahabhain is a Gaelic name. It translates to "the foot of the river".

This Islay distillery was founded in 1881 and started its life making the heavily peated whisky that the region is famous for. For most of its history its whisky was exclusively used in blends such as Black Bottle, and even today only a fraction of its production is bottled as a single malt. In 1963 production was increased and at the same time the distillery’s style was changed to the lighter, unpeated single malt whisky it is known for today. Since 1997 there have been small amounts of heavily peated (35 PPM malt spec) single malt made each year but it is not what the distillery is known for. 

The core of Bunnahabhain’s production and lineup doesn’t show very noticeable peat if it shows at all as they use a malt spec with a maximum phenolic level of 2 PPM. This makes it one of the more gently peated Islay single malts available. The distillery and its whisky are sometimes referred to as the ‘Gentle Giant of Islay’ What it lacks in smoke and peat it typically makes up for in nuanced and complex character and plenty of sherry cask influence, at least in official bottlings. 

Independent Bottler

Signatory Vintage was established in 1988 by Andrew Symington. The quality of whiskies released by most Independent Bottlers can vary a lot, and be rather hit or miss. Signatory Vintage is an exception to this, and we have consistently been impressed by the quality of its offerings. Accordingly Signatory Vintage has been a staple in our shop for more than a decade.

One of the reasons for Signatory's consistently high level of quality is that it doesn't bottle casks in the hand-to-mouth fashion, of many other independent bottlers. But rather it purchases parcels of casks, storing them in their own warehouses, while patiently waiting for the whiskies to mature.

Originally located in Edinburgh, the business was moved to Pitlochry in 2002, after Symington purchased the Edradour Distillery from Pernod Ricard. Edradour is tucked into the hills above the scenic Highland town of Pitlochry. This farm distillery has a charming, rustic, and understated esthetic, which was maintained by Symington when building a new bottling facility and warehousing.

The distillery bottles single cask and small batch bottlings of both single malts and single grains. Its ranges include the Un-Chill Filtered and Cask Strength Collections. In 1988 the firm celebrated its 30th Anniversary with a range of specially chosen, exceptionally rare single casks.