2013 Staoisha (Bunnahabhain) 11 Year Old Signatory K&L Exclusive 1st Fill Hogshead Cask Strength

About

Staoisha is the trade name for Bunnahabhain's heavily peated malt—a rare expression from a distillery better known for its typically unpeated Islay character. When the stills are turned to peat, Bunnahabhain's wide, tall copper columns gather dense smoke around the distillery's naturally briny spirit, creating something both intensely maritime and deeply smoky. The internal designation "Moine" cannot appear on labels, so independent bottlers reference the nearby Loch Staoisha instead. K&L Wine Merchants released this as their oldest Staoisha offering to date, drawn directly from first-fill hogshead without over-working the spirit through oak. After nearly twelve years in barrel, the raw, powerful distillate has blossomed into an absurdly complex and forceful expression. Bottled at natural cask strength (63.1% ABV), it marries intense peat smoke with maritime salinity and underlying malt richness. Founded in 1881 on Islay's remote north coast, Bunnahabhain has long produced weighty coastal spirits. This bottling stands apart as a singular achievement—forceful yet balanced, a whisky that reveals new layers with each return to the glass.

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