28 January 2011 Ruben Bunnahabhain

Bunnahabhain Cruach Mhona

Name: Bunnahabhain Cruach Mhona
Brand: Bunnahabhain
Rating: 2 (2 reviews)

A bunch of samples are waiting on my desk, but I’m developing a cold so I may have to slow down the publishing tempo for a while…

The otherwise unpeated Islay distillery Bunnahabhain did some peated runs in 1997, and occasionally they make it into a limited release like Bunnahabhain Toiteach or Bunnahabhain Moine. Now there’s a peated expression for duty free shops (as often also available in a few regular stores). Cruach Mhóna is the name for a pile of drying peat bricks.

Bunnahabhain Cruach Mhóna
(50%, OB 2010, travel retail, 100cl)

Nose: starts savoury with coastal hints of dried algae. Toasted bread. Then some herbs and something that vaguely reminds me of Maggi or – strangely – Worcestershire sauce. Smoke with sweet liquorice. Faint eucalyptus. Less peaty than previous peated Bunna, or so it seems. A few fruity notes in the background that grow stronger over time.

Mouth: more peat now. Ash tray, tarry ropes. More malty sweetness than the nose suggested. Develops on pepper, liquorice and a little salt. A few herbal notes. Nose: slightly drying and smokey. Medium length.

Not a bad dram, but it suffers from a comparison with its Islay neighbours who offer similar (yet more mature) peated whisky for less money. Around € 65.

Score: 75/100

10Comments

Add yours

1

I_SPEY on 29 March 2011 at 19:48

In this case, Ruben, I’m very sorry, but I do not agree with your view on the Bunnahabhain Cruach Mhona! I think, it’s a (damn) good whisky, when you add some drops(7-8) of water to this liquid; the whisky becomes more smokey – not peated! – but smokey(!) with a very subtle taste, oilyish, sweetish and even some fruit. Malty, dry and spicy in the finish.
My score: 84/100
2

Kamil Trochta on 29 October 2011 at 17:42

Hi:
How are you????
Would you tell me how old is Bunnahahain Cruach Mhona??? and the Drach Ur,as well….????
Thanks for your help !!!!!
Cordially yours,
Kamil
3

Ruben on 29 October 2011 at 18:19

Both probably contain young and old whisky (Darach Ur up to 20 years, Cruach Mhona probably younger). Most likely there’s also whisky in there less than 10 years old, which is why they don’t give an official age statement.
4

Dave on 1 July 2013 at 11:35

The guy at Heathrow is a better salesman than I’d given him credit for. I foolishly ignored cheaper, but more welcoming, Islays and saddled myself with this over-priced, in-your-face peatmonster. There’s no subtlety here — every mouthful’s a test of stamina.
5

Maltmuncher on 10 July 2013 at 22:45

Have to disagree i’m afraid. I’ve sat in one of Islay’s greatest whisky bars and compared vintage Bunnas alongside the best of lagavullin and Ardbeg and dismissed it as an inferior Islay dram. And i missed the point entirely. Bunna is not meant to be a tour de force of peat… It’s much subtler. I rediscovered Bunna 12 after years of neglect and consequently made sure to taste a number of their duty free and cask strength offerings. Cruach Mhona was by far one of the best and most interesting Islay drams i’ve tasted for a while. With a drop or two of water it really opens up, giving way to the wonderul floral notes which compliment a lavishly peated yet typically subtle bunna malt. Comparing to laphroaig cask strength or Uigeadail (incidentally my favourite “go to” whisky) misses the point because it simply isn’t a peat monster. Far from it. This is one of the few examples where a NAS can truly prevail.
6

Shakeyfly on 20 February 2015 at 19:00

I just found this review… but I strongly disagree. I give it an 85/100. It is one of my favorite drams out there, and the water truly can open up the smoke and undernotes of the whiskey. I’m a big fan of what Bunnahabhain produces. I love the quieter peat flavors as opposed to Arbeg and the real peat powerhouses.

But this is the beautiful thing about Scotch.. To each their own! Slainte
7

Steven Brown on 23 June 2015 at 04:10

Quite a polarizing whisky it seems. I am a fan of the Bunna 12, 18, 25, and some independent bottlings, but this one is not for me. An awkward layering of a small dose of burnt dried maple leaf tasting peat over honey sweetness. I’m not saying I’m going to pour it down the drain, but there are many other fine whiskies I would choose over it. Better with a teaspoon or two of water and about 15+ minutes to settle down.
8

Sylvain Allard on 21 October 2016 at 23:02

I just tried the latest release (autumn 2016) and it’s probably among the best cask finished whisky on Islay, very likely coming from an ex-rhum cask. Thing is, each batch greatly varies from one another, a very important (and which so many whisky lovers don’t understand, that each cask tastes different.) That being said, the batch tasted in this review (from 2011) no longer exist and couldn’t be further from you’ll get today in a duty free airport whisky ship. The new limited edition is a beauty and a wonder, probably around 92/100!
It’s great time whisky fans and connoisseurs wake up to the fact and reality that every year the batch you’ve tasted will be different from the one you had last year, and when it comes to small batch limited editions (under 10,000 bottles) what you get every year will be completely different, it’s a hit and miss. Some years I’ve had stellar Glenfarclas 15 yo and some others they were, well, disappointing. Bottom line, in 2016, Bunnahabhain Cruach Mhona is a winner!!!
9

WhiskyNotes on 21 October 2016 at 23:10

It’s simply a practical problem of not being able to try all batches AND producers not disclosing their batches. That’s also the reason (well, one of the reasons) why every year Jim Murray gets criticised for trying some obscure batch that nobody ever found in stores but which was supposedly far better than all the others.
10

Sylvain Allard on 23 October 2016 at 16:39

Agreed. The specific batch tasted is #11 for Cruach Mhóna. When it comes to small batches, where 10 to 20 casks are used in the vatting, a batch number is totally required. Just like the A’Bunadh (likely way more casks involved), Aberlour recognizes that the taste will greatly vary from one year to another. Interesting you mention Murray!! I’ve received the same feedback from Master Distillers who’d come to Jim Murray with a sample of what he claimed to be the whisky of the year and would be like “Come on Jim, this is really the best whisky you’ve tasted out there?!?” — the real question being “do you really understand whisky?” and Jim’s reply would invariably be “Oh well, it must have been a different batch.” Now the funny part is that with some limited releases that he named whisky of the year, there were no other batches…
Cheers!

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