Bunnahabhain 14 Years Old 2010 Cask #532 (Meadowside Blending)

Meadowside Blending was set up in Glasgow in 2011 by Donald and Andrew Hart, building on the Hart family's long history in the Scotch trade. Donald previously co-founded the independent bottler Hart Brothers. The Maltman is the firm's flagship single-cask line, releasing individual casks at natural strength without chill filtration or added colour. This 14 year old Bunnahabhain comes from cask 532, a refill hogshead that held heavily peated Mòine spirit distilled in December 2010 and bottled in 2025 at 55.2% natural strength.

The peated production at Bunnahabhain runs at roughly 35-38 ppm phenols on the malt, going through the same tall pot stills that produce the distillery's unpeated house style. The long swan-neck still architecture gives even the heavily peated spirit a softer, more refined character than the campfire-and-iodine south-coast Islay reference points; the smoke is earthier and less medicinal. At fourteen years, the spirit has fully mellowed into its mature register.

A refill hogshead at this age delivers a quiet wood signature rather than aggressive cask character. The 250-litre format and refill status mean American oak vanilla and lactone notes come through softly, supporting the smoke rather than fighting it. Expect the maritime-and-charcoal axis the bottler's tasting notes describe: salty harbour line, smoke-charred orchard fruit, warm citrus, sweet peat smoke and toasted almonds, with bitter-chocolate weight underneath and a long medicinal finish. Single cask, natural colour, non-chill-filtered.