Bunnahabhain 15 Years Old 2009 (MoM)

Master of Malt has been bottling whisky under its own name since 1985, working alongside its retail business to release single casks selected from across Scotland. The bottler's policy is consistent: natural cask strength wherever possible, no chill filtration, no added colour. This Bunnahabhain comes from a single refill hogshead distilled in 2009 and held for fifteen years before bottling in 2025, yielding 324 bottles at 50.9% natural strength.

The cask is a refill hogshead, meaning second or later fill, with the most active wood-extractive compounds already drawn out by a previous fill. Hogsheads run at roughly 250 litres, sitting between American Standard Barrels and sherry butts in format, and the moderate wood-to-spirit ratio combined with the refill status means the cask delivers a quiet, spirit-forward profile rather than an aggressive wood signature. Refill hogsheads default to bourbon-style American oak character, having previously held bourbon-matured spirit before being repurposed for Scotch maturation.

Bottler tasting notes point to baked earth, butterscotch, grilled peach, vanilla fudge and shortbread on the palate, with a long finish of warm vanilla and gentle coastal salt. That profile is consistent with what well-aged Bunnahabhain delivers from quiet bourbon-style oak: the distillate's oily mineral character running through, with the cask supplying sweet vanilla and toasted lactones rather than dominating. Natural colour, non-chill-filtered, single cask.