Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair

Ahoy there! The Bunna’ Boat has arrived!

Starting a distillery back in the nineteenth century came with its fair share of difficulties but none more so than for Bunnahabhain. After starting his career as a Whisky blender, William Robertson founded the distillery in 1881 in the most Northern part of Islay. Due to the virtually unlimited water access of the nearby Loch Staoinsha and great access to the sea for transportation, this really was a great location for making and distributing Scotch Whisky. It was, however, one of the most remote parts of a remote Scottish island. Boilers were blown off the beach during construction, a special road had to be built to access the distillery and even new houses 3-Year-Old nearby for the workforce. Despite the challenges, Bunnahabhain’s unique lightly Peated Islay Malt and strong connections to the sea, have seen the distillery survive and prosper until today.

Bunnahabhain has released this no-age Statement Scotch called Stiùireadair, which was an instant success. The word stands for Helmsman and the Whisky intends to pay homage to the sailors who have helped Bunnahabhain transport their Scotch to the mainland. Their distillery manager Andrew Brown describes it as a tribute to the sea that also stays true to the artisanal character of Bunnahabhain Scotch. The final spirit has all been matured at the distillery in a mixture of first-fill and second-fill Sherry casks before being bottled at 46.3%. Given the effort that has gone into keeping this distillery going, the least you could do is give this one a try.