Bunnahabhain 22 Years Old 2001 Cask #1438 (Signatory)

Cask 1438 is one of those rare single casks bottled twice in successive years, drawn for Signatory Vintage's Cask Strength Symington's Choice line at 22 years old in 2024 and again at 23 years old in 2025. This is the earlier release, distilled in 2001 at Bunnahabhain and bottled in 2024 after twenty-two years in a single Oloroso butt at 56.5% natural strength. The slightly higher ABV here compared to the 2025 sister release reflects the additional year of evaporation.

Signatory Vintage was founded in Edinburgh in 1988 by Andrew and Brian Symington and has grown into one of the foremost independent bottlers in Scotland, now operating from Edradour Distillery in the Highlands following the company's 2002 acquisition of that small distillery. The Cask Strength Collection is the bottler's flagship single-cask range, with releases bottled at natural strength without dilution. Symington's Choice is a buying-team subline tending to land at the older premium end.

At 22 years in a single Oloroso butt, the spirit and wood have fused into deep integrated maturation. Walnut and leather notes from the Oloroso run alongside dried fig, polished oak and dark dried fruit. The Bunnahabhain coastal signature underneath holds: oily texture, light maritime brine, the Margadale Burn mineral character. Comparing to the 23 year old sister release shows where one additional year of cask contact pushes the profile deeper. Natural colour, non-chill-filtered, single cask.