Ma2 Elements of Islay Review (Peated Bunna)

Hi everyone,

More whisky today, again from Elements of Islay. Who have been building a solid reputation for good casks.

The mysterious codes are always fun to try and work out too. From the obvious Lp to the more difficult ones like this. Ma stands for Margadale, which is not a distillery but a style of whisky from a distillery. It also happens to be the name of the river that Bunnahabhain uses for it’s water source.

 

Ma² Elements of Islay 55.2%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Subdued Bunna peat, some tropical fruit, lots of banana, greenish oak, wet leaves, sea salt, samphire.

Taste: Soft arrival then big, really intense, very peaty, mineral, salty, medicinal, cough sweets, some orange, very oily and quite spicy with white pepper.

Finish: Medium length. Mineral notes stay, with some white pepper tingling.

A 13yo peated Bunnahabhain. For some reason me and Bunnahabhain don’t seem to get along too well. This is very good whisky, but I’d be expecting more from a heavily peated Islay malt at this age. It’s that spiciness that’s holding it back, just a little harsh.

76/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #542

Whisky Network Review #637

Network Average: 74.6

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

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