Bunnahabhain Toiteach Single Malt Scotch - 750ml

Bunnahabhain Toiteach A Dhà — Scots Gaelic for "Smoky Two" — is produced at the Bunnahabhain Distillery, founded in 1881 on the northeastern shore of Islay along the banks of the Sound of Islay. The distillery occupies one of the most remote positions on the island, accessible only by sea until a single-track road was constructed in 1960, and its coastal warehouses sit directly on Bunnahabhain Bay where a persistent salt-laden breeze from the Sound of Islay permeates the aging casks over time. Bunnahabhain is unusual among Islay distilleries in that its core production has historically been unpeated, drawing process water from the Margadale River — which travels through an ancient limestone bed and therefore bypasses the peat bogs that lend other Islay whiskies their medicinal character. Toiteach A Dhà represents a deliberate departure from that house style, introducing peated malted barley at a light level of approximately 3 phenol parts per million.

The expression was created by Senior Blender Dr. Kirstie McCallum as a sequel to the original limited-edition Toiteach and entered the core range in 2017. The peated malt is distilled twice through Bunnahabhain's copper pot stills before maturing in full in the distillery's coastal warehouses in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks — with the sherry wood comprising approximately 75% of the vatting, a notably higher sherry influence than found in other core Bunnahabhain expressions. The spirit is bottled non-chill filtered at 46.3% ABV with no artificial colour, consistent with the distillery's return to natural presentation in 2010.

The nose opens with an intriguing interplay of peat smoke, brine, and sherry-driven dark fruit — blackcurrant, dried cherry, and a thread of sea salt that reflects the coastal warehouse environment. On the palate, an immediate warming peatiness gives way to a sweet Oloroso sherry influence of dark chocolate, sultanas, and rich oak, balanced by a prickling pepper note that the smoke and higher proof provide. The finish is long and robust, closing on dry smoke, barley, and a lingering sweet-savory duality that is specific to the sherry-heavy, lightly peated character the Toiteach A Dhà has made its own.