Bunnahabhain Mòine 2013 Bordeaux Wine Cask Finish 'Fèis Ìle 2023' – 70cl

Mòine is Scots Gaelic for peat, and it is Bunnahabhain's signal that this is the smoky side of the distillery. Most of what leaves the bay on Islay's north-east coast is unpeated, the island's gentle contrarian. But a portion of the spirit is made from heavily peated barley, and that is what fills this bottle: distilled in 2013 and finished in ex-Bordeaux red-wine casks, a pairing of Islay smoke and claret fruit that shouldn't work as well as it does.

This is a Fèis Ìle festival release, one of the limited bottlings the distillery puts out each year for Islay's whisky week. It is bottled at a robust 59.5%, uncoloured and non-chill-filtered, so both the peat and the wine cask arrive with real force.

The nose opens on lightly toasted oak and red fruit, deepening into dark fruit jam with a curl of dry smoke behind it. The palate is where the two halves meet: peat smoke and oak spice up front, then dark grapes, cocoa and a prickle of red chilli, with the wine cask lending a sweet-and-sour balance of ripe fruit and acidity. The finish is long and sweet, all red wine and over-ripe grape. At full strength it's fierce, so give it water and let it settle.

A whisky for people who think they've tried everything Islay has to offer. This one tends to surprise them.

How to Serve

In a Glencairn, with water. At 59.5% a good splash is your friend here, taming the heat and drawing the wine-cask fruit forward.

Where to Drink It

Black Rock in Shoreditch, built for smoky, cask-forward drams. Soho Whisky Club for its Islay depth. The American Bar at The Savoy, if you'd rather enjoy it somewhere grand.

Food Pairings

Try it with a rare grilled ribeye, where the smoke meets the char, or a plate of chorizo and aged cheese to play off the red-wine fruit.