Bunnahabhain 18 Year Old Scotch Paired with a Tatuaje Cabaiguan Guapo Cigar and Chuao's Melao and Java Bonbons

The last two months were very busy ones for Sip Smoke Savor, attending the Ultimate Whisky Experience in Las Vegas and participating in the Whiskies of the World Expo in San Francisco.  Gatherings like these offer exposure to a variety of new expressions, but as important they are reminders to revisit old acquaintances.  In this case, it gave us a chance to taste the "relaunched" 2010 Bunnahabhain 18 year old scotch.  This experience was like a reunion with an old friend who has only gotten better since our last taste. Owners Burn Stewart's decision to increase the ABV to 46.3% and switch to non-chill filtered processing, while not too "DRAMatic" a makeover, does result in a notable improvement in the body and mouthfeel of the Bunni-18.  It has those same great chocolately flavors we have always enjoyed, only richer and with more depth and complexity of flavor.

Established in 1881, Bunnahabhain (pronounced Boon-ah-ha-Venn) has been owned by Burn Stewart since its 2003 acquisition from the Edrington Group along with the popular Black Bottle blended brand. Burn Stewart is also home to Deanston, Ledaig and Tobermory whiskies. 

One of nine distilleries on the Island of Islay, Bunnahabhain (Gaelic for river mouth) is located on the remote north-eastern coast at the Port Askaig.  It is on the shoreline near where the Margadale river flows into the bay.  This area of rolling hills and pebbly beaches absolutely teems with wildlife due to its seclusion and abundance of natural resources. 

For those not familiar with the Bunnahabhain brand, they call themselves "The Gentler" Islay whisky.  It may seem that they have forsaken that characteristic phenolic, smoky Islay DNA  by using very lightly peated malt and drawing their water from the clear Margadale springs before it reaches the peaty bogs that populate the island.  But make no mistake about it, this is hardly a whimpy spirit.  Your first whiff of its rich aroma gives that telltale sign of maturation in coastal warehouses with the pungency of sea air mixed with the sweetness of caramel sauce.  This turns winey, then faintly citrusy almost floral with a finishing cinnamon note on the nose.

Bold flavors explode on first sip, something akin to cognac mixed with demerara sugar and a drop of iodine. As the alcohol evaporates, this expression turns malty and slightly salty.  Underlying it all is a wonderful fruitiness from years in sherry casks that is so well balanced, it allows the many complex flavor notes to each take their turn to shine through.  The finish turns to a dark chocolatey goodness with the slightest hint of coffee and very peppery spices. These mellow out to a leathery note that hangs long on the tongue.  (click on picture to purchase)

With so many layers of flavors it was not difficult to make a choice of bonbons for pairing.  Chuao Chocolatier's Melao salt caramel makes for an interesting choice and draws out the caramel aspect of this spirit.  The slight saltiness is just right and its silky textures seems to temper the robustness of this dram in a luxurious way.  (click on pictures to purchase)

The coffee bean shaped Java from Chuao Chocolatier provides another great match with the Bunnahabhain 18.  Its rich buttercream draws out the brief coffee note of the spirit, while the dark chocolate coating is sublime with this scotch.  The creamy texture in the filling of Java, gives an entirely different mouth feel experience from the gooey caramel of the Melao, but one that is just as decadent.  (click on picture to purchase)

The rich and elegant spirit of the Bunnahabhain 18 year old requires a cigar match that won't overpower the complexity of its flavors. For this pairing we selected a medium strength cigar with lighter notes to complement the sweetness and caramel goodness of the single malt - the Tatuaje Cabaiguan Guapo. The cigar was named after a city in the northern Sancti Spirites province of Cuba, and is pronounced "Kah-by-gwahn". This blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos with a Connecticut Seed sun-grown Ecuadorian wrapper is the brainchild of Pete Johnson in consultation with Jaime Garcia (son of José "Pepin" Garcia). The Guapo utilizes the sun-grown natural wrapper while the standard Cabaiguan uses the shade-grown leaf.

The cigar is a creamy smoke full of toasty wood flavors with some spice and pepper on the nose.  Vanilla and caramel notes add a sweetness to the first third and pull forward those notes in the Bunnahabhain.  Into the middle, and the Guapo exhibits some coffee flavors, also hitting similar notes in the single malt. The creamy flavors remain with some spice throughout the remainder of the smoke, adding a nice, light foil to all the complexity going on in the single malt. (Click on picture to purchase.)

Tatuaje recently released a maduro version, and while we couldn't get our hands on one for this pairing, it would be an interesting experiment in flavor contrasts.  Tasting notes suggest chocolate, dark cherry, spice and cedar - quite different from the Guapo. Try them both and let us know which one pairs better.

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