"Very strange" | Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair REVIEW 

I was diappointed to start with, but I saw Ralfy add water & leave for 10-15 mins. It totally changed its character, and very much for the better.

nice enough drop. good value. And ticks all the integrity boxes.

Hi Geoff, it's certainly a bit young, and at the beginning it delivers some strange notes (I even felt a hint of tar, or slightly industrial) that you wouldn't expect in a Bunna, but personally I didn't dislike it, and without being particularly complex I found it changeable, especially with the oxygenation in the bottle. Considering the price and the integrity bottling, I'd have it as an every-day sipper. Thanks for the review! Cheers

Thanks for reviewing the NAS Bunnahabhain whiskies -- they don't seem to get much attention from reviewers. Another astute series of reviews--well done!

If you drink it more often your appreciation for this whisky will increase!! Never a dull moment!!

I've had this head-to-head with the Bunna 12 YO on several occasions. I find it OK-ish, even good, but it is overshadowed by the mighty 12 YO. I'm critical of the cynical ploy of producers who create a NAS or younger version merely to jack up the price of their erstwhile entry level offering.

It's cheap, but save your money and buy the 12yo which is in a different league to this 'scooby doo' expression 🙂

Cool Review Geoff! The picture of the Bunnahabhain Distillery was the most unexpected to me....now it all makes sense. I got this bottle about two years ago. Still have more then half of it and I finished two bottles of the Bunna 12 since then. That sais it all I believe...😅 Thanks again for the review mate! Cheers 🥃🥃

I do generally enjoy this in general, particularly as it is quite often on offer and a decent bargain pick-up. Cheers Geoff.

Thanks for that review! For the 18, I agree. I think I have one of those bad batch... Sad. I'll try to get a semple of another bottle to test. Or maybe a bottle... Cheers

I have enjoyed the Stiui very much, so much that I actually I bought one for the shelf. It is oily, not overly cask influenced, spirit forward, and good for both summer and winter time. Granted no complexity at first, although it morphs considerably with time. (reminds me of Craigellachie 13 - without the complexity and maturity)

If you want a better and even less expensive Sherried Single Malt, then I suggest the weaker, chillfiltered, and caramel coloured Glen Moray Sherry Cask Finish. Blind in the glass, I think it drinks perfectly fine.

😂 That whisky did what in your mouth? Great review, Geoff. Glad I saw this before pulling the trigger. I love the Bunnahabhain 12 and my bottle is a couple of drams away from needing replacement. Now I know what to buy. Cheers!

I haven’t seen this in the shelf around here yet, but I feel like their standard 12-Year scotch is already very budget-friendly, among other 12-year, non-colored, non-chill-filtered. I’m not really looking for a cheaper version.

Never tried this one, and thanks to your very informative video I might as well skip it😎 I recommend tasting Ceòbanach if you haven’t already. It’s a bit pricier but worth every penny. I also like the rough pepperiness of Mòine. It gives me real pirate vibes.

I had this recently and found it great. I did drink it after a GlenDronach cask strength and probably need to drink it by itself another time but was good. Loved the nuttiness and the toffee sweetness.

"When this comes in your mouth...Nope!" 🤣😆😂

It's not bad but for £5.00 more just buy the 12 yr. For budget the virgin oak Deanston and Laphroaig quarter cask are bangers love them.

Feels good to have seen this in the morning. Thanks for the review, these nas bunnas are not very reliable... Cheers

Last year I stocked up on Bunna 12 for 34€ a Bottle. For the price really good value. For this one I payed 28. Even though the 12 is now 43-50€ this one is not worth the money for me. I will use my bottle for mixing and self blending. Maybe I should give this another go with water.

Ive had this bottle for about 18 months and never taken to it. Will need to try leaving it out for a long time see if I can get into it, Its actually put me off getting into more Bunna (I do like what peated bunna ive had)

To me it tastes like its been left to sit in an old bike innertube. Strange that I love it but I do. Great review.

Cool, I tried it a couple weeks back and was looking for your review on it. And now it's here 😅 i really did not enjoyed it as much as I liked. But it is one of the few whiskys for me that is actually more enjoyable with a few drops of water. So as you said, a mixed bag. Great review! Ps its around 32€ in my market. Good value but than again, you can get the ancoc 12 for under 30 € here..

Bunnahabhain Toiteach A Dhà is a little banger and the first port of call for any helmsman wanting a peat hit.

Hi Geoff, how long ago did you open this bottle? Sounds like the whisky might improve from some months of oxidation in the bottle. Cheers!

Oh yes “odd” loved my first bottle so much.. bought another 3 on offer (£22.50) second bottle was that weirded, I dropped 100 ml of PX into it (March this year) just “got it out” sorry I brought it from the back of the shelf.. will try tonight and report back if your interested ? Ps great show dude :-)

Hello Geoff, i was a little disapointed by this Expression. Same with the other unpeated Bottling of this Distillery , the Eirig na Greine ( Eric the Green😅). Both too young and spirity. I very much prefer the Age stated unpeated and the NAS peated Versions. I loved the old 18yo (when the Sailor on the Label had a Beard and was older 😊), and still love most of the Staoishas (young heavily Peated IBs and especially the OB Cask Strength Versions. Thanks for sharing your Thoughts and Opinion about this Budget friendly Bunna. Greetings again from Germany 😎🤘

I rather pay the small extra for the 12yo. It’s still better than the travel exclusives that said

Cost 55€ here. Regular 12 is 60€. Think it's a pass from me. But hope I can try it at festival

Seriously good value, but needs time and can be a rough ride.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this yabba-dabba-doo, Geoff. Imho decent stuff for a decent price.... but my suggestion would be to step up and buy the 12yo. Slàinte mhath

Some people say cardboardy/papery taste is telling of larger portion of tails making the cut at distillation, and describe youthful spirit as of metallic taste. I wonder if this could somehow be the one and same note subjectively.

At the price point, you are competing against Glen Livet 12, Glenfiddich 12 etc... which is better chill filtered 40% with some age or 46%, non chill filtered with youth?

Serge over at Whiskyfun gave it a decent review and when it came up on sale here in Canada (C$55) I thought I ought to give it a go. A couple of times I have found the NAS version better than the 12 year old - here I am talking about Tomatin and Bowmore. Since I am overseas I will have to come home before I can decide for myself. Channeling Jim Murray (apologies in advance), as long as the finish is good, there is nothing wrong with a happy ending.

That cat was suuper cute! Cheers

Totally agree with this review.

For me This is like a wild teenager ,and Fairly priced.. but still Mighty Bunna 12 is my favourite

Perhaps Machir Bay a better option in the same range? Congratulations for your channel.

In laughed out loud 4 times. Fantastic review. The more mistakes the better!

Lmfao...love your reviews Geoff.

Great review Mr G I agree with you , tried this and Oooo No …not for me very strange stuff thin /odd tasting , gave it away 👹

I generally get this in the UK if I'm going to someone's house for a dinner party or something. It's affordable, a talking piece for the non whisky enthusiasts because of it's name and the information and interesting enough to keep me engaged. I think other than filling this slot, it's a forgettable dram. Cheers Geoff!

The Scooby is the first Bunnahabain I tried. At the time it was around $30 if memory serves (USD). I thought it was good, not great. I had it again a couple of years ago. At that time I felt it was just ok. The last time I priced it the price jumped to $65. There is no way I will buy one at that price. Oddly enough, the first time I tried the 12, I wasn’t impressed. Now I love the 12. Unfortunately, the 12 has skyrocketed to $75 here. I will still pay it, but the 12 should really be in the $60 range (IMO). Still, all scotch has jumped in price. Thankfully I don’t drink twenty drams a day (not that I am judging of course).

I like Bunna 12 yo and Eirigh na greine , stiuireadair not try .... Good review Geoff ! Cheers !

See Ralphys review. It needs a bigger drop of water to bring out the best.

Interesting, I love the stuff Maybe there is batch variation?

Your scoring system is available somewhere?

Well worth £27 - on offer April 2024

Possibly to my shame, this is my favourite official Bunnahabhain bottle especially with the value. Maybe because I am also a little messed up... cheers

Redbreast whisky

12 is much better..but at £25 at times..its not too bad..Scooby,Dooby Doo!😂

I get that you're talking to a much more sophisticated scotch drinker than me. But here's my take, anyway. I had the Bunna 12 a few weeks ago, and it blew away anything I had had previously by quite a bit. I'm a novice, but it was better than Macallan 12(and I know everybody and you think that's overrated, but still). My daily sipper is JW Black, and for an extra $10, I can get Bunna Stuireadair. It's not even a contest, Bro. For me, this is very close to the Bunna 12, my palate is not developed to distinguish "Sultanas"(WTF is a Sultana, anyway) or anything else. I'm just a "grip it and rip it" kind of guy with scotch. Is it good, or not? The Stiurdadair, for me, is very, very good stuff. At this point in my "journey", it's hard for me to distinguish Bunna 12 from this stuff. And I'm happy to save the $22 by buying this instead of the 12.

it's not a bad whisky for the price in the UK but I wouldn't buy another bottle!

I would give it a score of 78. I don't dislike it but I would not buy it again at regular price.

82?? I think you're being a little cruel with this one, hahahah maybe 84 or 85, depending on the day. It's a good whisky, and very honest for the price. It's a good whisky for beginners I would say.

Yep, it’s drinkable, but I won’t be buying anymore.

Sounds like the Lindsay Lohan of whisky.

Spend your money on the 12yo

This was the worst whisky ive ever tasted.........this includes johnny Red, Black Douglas etc... My friend said it was ok so im thinking i got a slightly off bottle but it was so bad that i wont buy another bottle. 12 is one of my favourite whiskies so its not like i dont like bunnahabhain

Local (extortionate) pricing, converted to ukp. Stui: 40.5-52.5. B12: 41-53. There isn't a lot of Bunna in my (small) market, with just a few offering the Stui. Plenty have stocked the B12 in the past but it's presently sold out at many outlets and no idea when it'll be replenished. I have an unopened B12 and an opened Toiteach A Dhà. First impressions of the latter were slightly underwhelming/simple and a bit medicinal/elastoplast but hopefully it may develop. A friend poured his bottle of B12 a couple of years ago and it seemed very underwhelmingly plain so I couldn't understand the worldwide B enthusiasm, but it may have been a batch issue. Since then I've tried G&M B11 Discovery, 43%, which had lovely sherry-influenced aromatics but a thin and short finish. Also earlier this year tried a Cadenhead B7 peated, 46%, from refill sherry which was still not exactly complex but quite delicious.

Howdy Geoff. Well, I took a much less analytical approach with this one and just enjoyed quoffing it knowing I paid only £23 for it, and it stands as my bargain dram of the year (2023). Just wish I'd have bought two bottles, but hey ho!

I've had this head-to-head with the Bunna 12 YO on several occasions. I find it OK-ish, even good, but it is overshadowed by the mighty 12 YO. I'm critical of the cynical ploy of producers who create a NAS or younger version merely to jack up the price of their erstwhile entry level offering.