From 1963 to 1997, the Bunnahabhain distillery made the unusual decision on Islay to produce an unpeated single malt. And yet, just to be difficult, the aromas of this venerable 50 year old offer sequences in which peat is more than just hinted at, at times even taking on medicinal tones. It is this that tells us we are in the presence of a "true Islay", unique in its brilliant paradox of expressing peat without actually being peated. With remarkable freshness, the flavour palette is for its part luscious, herbaceous, vanilla, malty, rustic (dandelion, daisy) and devoid of peat. Superb.

Colour: deep gold with glints of burnished gold.

Profile: absolutely magnificent, the iodine and saline first nose takes us deep into a field of peat. This is joined by a medicinal peat. Fresh and exotic fruits (mango, pear) appear. The rich attack is then deeply exotic (passion fruit). Sage adds aromatic notes to the vanilla and milky mid-palate. The mentholated end of the palate is intensely malty. Inseparable from the palate, the finish is characterized by notes of tobacco and chalk. Wildflowers highlight the very natural, rustic character of this venerable Bunnahabhain.

The whisky was disgorged and bottled under my supervision in the Town of Pitlochry on 7th January 2019.

Andrew W. Symington, Managing Director, Signatory Vintage

• Product type
  Single Malt
• Distillery / brand
  Bunnahabhain
• Country
  Scotland
• Region
  Islay
• Bottler
  Signatory
• Cask type
  Sherry
• Distillation date
  1968
• Bottling date
  7th of January 2019
• Age
  50 years old
• Non-chillfiltered
  Yes
• Natural colour
  Yes
• SKU
  035536