Whisky Review - Bunnahabhain Mòine

While Bunnahabhain has primarily been known for its unpeated spirit, following a successful experiment with peated malt in 1997 the distillery has been regularly producing peated spirit for a few weeks each year since 2003. This peated malt whisky has generally been known as Mòine, occasionally appearing on independently bottled releases over the last ten years or so. More recently the distillery started releasing its own whisky under that name, without any age statement.

This whisky was aged in ex-bourbon casks, then bottled at 46.3% without coloring or chill filtration.

I tried this as a purchased sample from WhiskySite.nl

Bunnahabhain Mòine

Nose: lots of young, dry, spicy peat, a little sour (yogurt?), overripe oranges, green malt, seaweed, very light oak, a little vanilla. After adding a few drops of water it peat becomes softer, but it remains largely unchanged.

Taste: strong malty sweetness up front, fairly hot throughout, berry overtones starting around the middle, moderate oak and young peat at the back. After dilution it remains more or less the same, but with less heat and a thicker body.

Finish: light peat, sweet malt, slightly astringent oak tannins

This is... OK? There's nothing particularly wrong if you enjoy younger heavily peated single malts, but by the same token there's nothing about it that stands out compared to other entrants in the field. It makes me want to try Ceobanach, which is nominally the same spirit aged for at least ten years, which would hopefully push it closer to its stablemate Ledaig 10 Year.