2013 Staoisha, AD Rattray 12 yo 55.9% Islay

Bunnahabhain is the Islay ‘imposter’, the whisky that as a rule refuses to toe the Islay line of heavy peating. But every rule has an exception, and this is it. When Bunnahabhain want to bottle a peaty malt, they call it Staoisha. Think coal tar and carbolic soap, kippers, peat smoke, bonfires on the beach. Staoisha is a small loch not far from the distillery, and it lends its name to this bottling. (NT 03/07/26)