Review #286 - Battlehill Peated Bunnahabhain 7 Year
Battlehill is a brand produced by independent bottler Duncan Taylor - one of many, in fact. They also bottle whiskies for the Black Bull, Rarest, Dimensions, Tantalus, Rare Auld, and The Octave lines. The Battlehill brand generally focuses on single malts and single grains, and here in the US, it's common to find them at big box liquor retailers such as Total Wine.
This particular peaty bottling comes from Bunnahabhain, and it's aged 7 years in 'oak casks.' Nothing more specific about the casks on the bottle or online, but based on our experience tasting it, we would guess it was refill ex-bourbon casks. Strength is a nice 52% ABV, and this was available at a fair price, under $50.
Battlehill Peated Bunnahabhain 7 Year
Scotland/Islay - Single Malt
Price Paid: USD 47 (2023)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 47 (2024 - equivalent bottling)
Age Statement: 7 Years
Strength: 52% ABV
Details: 3000 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 5 months; bottles at 100%, 60% (blind tasting), and 50% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Quite spirity and raw - dry, crisp, and no hint of a wine cask. Lemon, raw oysters, salt, vanilla icing sugar, and chardonnay wine are where we start out; the smoke is ashy, with hints of a mezcal smoke character. Sharp limes, seaweed, and perfume are accent flavors; with time, a creamier barley note arrives.
Palate: A medium-thick mouthfeel, nice strength - punchy flavors. Lemon and lime citrus, strong smoke, and spice combine for a sort of mezcal jalapeno margarita theme. White pepper, hot peppers, cayenne, and red pepper flake flavors add more spice; there's a slightly fizzy, sherbety texture. The smokiness is relatively intense, bringing oily barbecue flavors. Overall, it's dry and still quite spirity.
Finish: Medium-long in length, due to a mix of heat and peat. Charred savory barbecue, citrus tang, and dry oak combine for an in-your-face experience; there are spicy sausage and hot peppers flavors as well, and in the aftertaste, subtle lemon and icing sugar notes.
Final Note: Very interesting, very smoky, and very raw. The spirity nature feels young, even for seven years of aging, hinting at some refill casks; we enjoyed the oily, savory notes, but this was a slightly more challenging dram overall - not bad, just intense. Fun to dissect, but we would need to be in the mood for a whisky this punchy and unpolished.
Value is still good, considering the very fair price - this is among the cheapest single malts we can find in our area, and it's age stated and transparent about the source distillery, which are added benefits.
Our Average Rating: 6.3 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 7.02
Check out our other Bunnahabhain reviews:
Review #197 - SMWS 10.217 'Journey to the Fest' - Bunnahabhain 13 Year
