Bunnahabhain – Fèis Ìle 2022 Abhainn Araig

This is something a little unusual. An un-peated Islay whisky! Yep, you heard right – an un-peated Islay. Behold the whisky creatin specifically for the Islay food & Drink Festival…the very awesomely named (and superbly tasting) Bunnahabhain – Fèis Ìle 2022 Abhainn Araig.

Or is it? Un-peated that is. The distillery website certainly claims it’s un-peated – but I’m not so sure. Read on to find out…

Released to celebrate Fèis Ìle 2022, Bunnahabhain Abhainn Araig is a marriage of Bunnahabhain spirit that has been matured in ex-Bourbon casks and ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry octave casks.

These highly concentrated Octave casks were hand-selected to push the boundaries of sherry maturation, creating a limited edition that is quintessentially ‘Bunnahabhain’ – unpeated, sherried, bold and complex. Not all whiskies stand up to full maturation in sherry casks, let alone specially seasoned octaves. Bunnahabhain, however, really stands up to this challenge.

The Fèis Ìle is an annual festival held on the Isle of Islay. Every year, in the last week of May – whisky fans from all over the globe gather in Islay to celebrate the region’s whisky, food and culture. Held annually in the last week of May, this is a huge, 10-day event that defines the whisky calendar.

As the regions foremost cultural event it’s not surprising that Islay’s distilleries play a major part in this festival. Every year, the Islay producers scramble to produce something special with which to mark this special event. It’s a matter of pride to not only be represented with a ‘Feis Ile’ expression, but for these expressions to be ‘something truly special’ – after all the celebration is one of Islay’s culture – and the islands whiskies are without doubt a central part of that culture.

Meaning ‘Araig River’ in Scots Gaelic, this velvety rich dram is inspired by the waters of Islay.

Nose: For me a delightful buttery note is the first impression of this whisky, followed by dark chocolate, sweet spices and an oaky backbone. There is certainly an element of peat to be found here (despite what the Bunny website says). It’s not punching your lights out – but there is certainly a subtle medicinal notes on the nose.

Palate: Rich and oily and instantly, mouth wateringly, delicious. A sight white pepper develops early but then the fruit really kicks in. Raspberries, prunes and sultanas with a malted choc milkshake quality there too. Again, subtle peaty notes (iodine, a slight mustiness and a charcuterie savoury-ness) push through the fruit.

Finish: Big and chewy (as any good Islay) and very, very satisfying. The fruits from the palate swirl around a subtle saltiness with more chocolate and fruit popping in and out. All is held up with a pleasant leathery note. A distant campfire reminds us of the provenance of this fine dram.

This is a sumptuous whisky – but slightly beguiling. The Bunnahbhain website claims this is un-peated – and, well, it might be. BUT – if no unpeated malt has been used in this whisky, it certainly has picked up some peaty qualities from somewhere – perhaps residue on the stills, probably the ex-bourbon casks which have aged whisky previously (more likely on thinking about it)? There is certainly some iodine/medicinal notes here, there is without doubt a salty quality both to the nose and palate, and I’ll be damned if I don’t get some real smoke on the finish. It’s no peat monster by any means. The peat qualities are subdued but nonetheless present. And I for one, am not complaining!

Created to celebrate Fèis Ìle 2022, this whisky has been matured in ex-Bourbon and PX sherry octave casks to create an unpeated, sherried, bold and complex dram.

Inspired by the waters of islay, this velvety ruch dram was created exclusively for Fèis Ìle 2022 and gained it’s unique character in small octave casks that once held sublime Pedro Ximinez sherry. Expertly married with Oloroso and Bourbon matured Bunahabhains, the result is beautifully balanced flavours of milk chocolate, raisins and raspberries, giving way to balsamic vinegar and honeyed macadamias and a deep toffee finish with a spicy cinnamon burst.

This special, limited festival whisky is quintessentially ‘Bunnahabhain’ – unpeated, sherried, bold and complex. Bottled with natural colour, non-chill filtered and with an abv of 50.8%.

“The waters of Islay play a vital role in our whisky and helped shape this special edition for the many visitors who cross the water to enjoy Fèis Ìle each year.”
– Andrew Brown, Distillery Manager

Nose: Chocolate, powdered ginger and cigar box.

Taste: A velvety rich texture, initially creamy milk chocolate then sweet raisins and dried raspberries. As the PX develops balsamic vinegar and honeyed macadamias come through.

Finish: Deep and rich, with dark toffee and a final spicy burst of cinnamon.

The Bunnahabhain Distillery was established in 1881 with full production commencing in 1883 and is long credentialed with maritime exploits. The name itself means ‘Mouth of the River’ and as it’s name suggests, the distillery sits on the mouth of the Margdale Spring. In it’s infancy, the distillery relied heavily on the small merchant fleet – it’s wares transported by boat to the mainland and beyond. The ingredients brought in by boat. In 1960 a HUGE development – a road – was constructed which made the use of the small-boat merchant fleet obsolescent.

In an industry rife with tales of bootlegging, illicit stills and general shenanigans, Bunnahabhain is notable for the complete and utter lack of such tales in it’s history. The distillery itself a product of pure calculated corporate expansion – costed out, planned and built [by the Islay Whisky Company] to capitalise on the 19th Century ‘Whisky Boom’ that was in full swing at the time. Even the town of Bunnahabhain – complete with school – was created by the distillery to house it’s workers.

The distillery itself is, perhaps, one of the most instantly recognisable distilleries in the world. It’s iconic North-East facing, branded wall lying right on the beach is the subject of countless Instagram and Facebook posts. Interestingly, even though all records of the distilleries creation are housed in trust in the University of Glasgow’s archives – no record of the architect who designed it exits.

At the time of it’s construction, it was a state of the art facility. Steam powered grain lifts and other machines made it the most automated distillery of its day. The stills and washbacks at Bunnahabhain remain among the largest in Britain. Bunnahabhain is used in both the Cutty Sark and Famous Grouse blended whiskies.