Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair

The Maker

Bunnahabhain is one of the great Islay distilleries. Founded in 1881 on the shores of the Sound of Islay overlooking Jura, Bunnahabhain (meaning ‘mouth of the river’) has its roots in the original Islay Distillery Company. For decades the distillery was cut off completely from the rest of Islay with the only way in and out being by sea – hence the image of a helmsman which can still be found on the distillery logo. Until a road was constructed in 1960, most distillery workers lived onsite in the purpose built Bunnahabhain village which today makes up part of the distillery itself. The completion of the road enabled production to significantly increase and by the end of the 1970s the 12-Year-Old expression was reaching acclaim on the world stage.

Flash forward to the 21st Century and now under the ownership of Burn Stewart/Distell Distillers, the core range has been expanded to include several additional age statements and no-age expressions, alongside an ever-changing roster of special editions – often from exotic casks sourced from around the world. These have combined to give Bunnahabhain its deserved reputation as an exciting, yet traditional Islay distillery which means you're likely to find several bottles on any Islay loving whisky shelf.

The Expression

The Stiùireadair (pronounced ‘stew-rah-dur’) can be considered the entry level Bunnahabhain. Gaelic for the aforementioned helmsman, this feels like the distillery’s attempt to get a strong, accessible mass market offering into supermarkets. With no age statement it’s reasonable to assume that much of the whisky is considerably younger than what’s found in the classic 12-Year-Old. Nonetheless, it’s packed full of first and second fill sherry casks to mask the harshness associated with some younger malts. It’s bottled at 46.3%, is natural coloured and not chill-filtered.

The Neck Pour

Upon opening the first thing which hits your nose is the rich scent of sherry and dark fruits. It’s basically Christmas Pudding/Cake in liquid form – and that isn’t something I’m ever going to complain about. There’s a tiny tiny hint of smoke behind that.

The taste itself is much more one dimensional. It’s all sherry. Very strong and sweet, so much so I’d happily have this as a dessert all by itself. But beyond that there isn’t very much there to talk about. Indeed, the whole thing is all over way too fast and despite its strength. So much so in fact I think that if I had not read it was 46.5%, I would have assumed it was no more than 40%.

My initial thoughts are that the Stiùireadair is delivering precisely what it was intended to do. It provides an accessible entry point for new whisky drinkers and those who may be put off by some of the stronger expressions to be found on Islay. Seasoned drinkers are unlikely to find a lot in there to hold their attention - aside from those moments when they need reminding how nice a Christmas evening can be.

The Body

Several weeks on and several inches down the bottle there is really nothing new coming to my attention. While none of the above has been lost the Stiùireadair, to me at least, is not rewarding repeat visits and seems to be a bit of one trick pony - even if that one trick is to be a perfectly pleasant bottle of whisky.

Final Thoughts

With the bottle pretty much gone this seems to be a rare example of a whisky where you really do get everything you're going to get in a single dram. On reflection this is somewhat different to what can normally be found in Bunnahabhain expressions, given that interest and complexity would be two of the first words which come to mind when I think of the distillery. Maybe that's intentional to fill that supermarket gap mentioned above, or maybe that's just me making excuses for something which got a bit boring over time.

I guess the best way to think of it is like a punchy house wine: it does one note really well and hits the spot with the first glass. But by the time you get to the bottom, more often than not, you wish you were a bit less frugal.