Like many cranky old men, I yearn for a simpler, bygone time. A time before sameness. A time when you could tell the make of a car by its headlights; when every kid who played Little League didn't get a trophy, (you know, just for trying); when being outrageous didn't get you a summons from the PC police; and when you could tell where a whisky was from, based on its taste. There was a time (not too long ago) when regions were defined by taste profiles. The heavily sherried drams came from Speyside; the Lowlands produced lighter, floral malts; heavy, peated whiskies belonged to Islay; and so on. I don't know if that's good or bad, but the landscape has definitely changed. In our brave new world of homogeneous confusion, no longer can you tell a book by its cover. Peated Speysides, unpeated Islays, the euro -- it's total anarchy!

And yet, even in the "time before sameness," there were still a few oddballs. Consider Bunnahabhain. Billing itself as "the gentle taste of Islay", Bunnahabhain has long carried the torch for smooth, lightly-peated Islay whisky, and has done so admirably. Established in 1881, Bunnahabhain uses barley that has only been marginally peated, as well as water that is piped in, thereby eliminating another source of extra peat. Taste Bunna, and you'll be hard-pressed to imagine that it's from the same region that produces some of whisky's "heaviest hitters". And yet, it is excellent. Bunna's freshness and fruitiness across its entire range belies a depth and quality that you only get from a superior distillery. It's enough to cure most of my crankiness.

Just… keep off the lawn!

Oh, by the way, here's a rundown of the three drams in Bunna's core range:

12 Year Old (40%): This is as un-Islay a dram as the island has to offer - a little salt, a little "nose sting," a little sweetness, a little finish. There's honey and heather in the youthful nose, along with malt, brine, and chocolate chip cookie dough. The medium-to-light body is quickly followed by a medium-length finish of mixed fruits, baked bread, and a light (very light) waft of peat smoke.

18 Year Old (43%): Now, this is nice! The 18 has a deep, mature nose chockfull of marzipan, oranges, carob chips, and warm honey. There's also caramel, raisins, mangoes, and strangely, the scent of a forest after a rainstorm, which, though odd, only adds to the complexity. This is a medium-weight dram which tastes, and finishes, as smoothly as it starts. Stuffed with oranges, grapefruits, leather, tobacco, and a hint of peat, the 18 year old's medium-long finish coupled with its freshness on the palate speaks of a superior quality in cask selection.

25 Year Old (43%): Ahhh, now that's a Bunna! Older isn't always better, but it is in this case! Light smoke, elegant sweetness, a nuttiness that only barely appears, sherry, bittersweet chocolate, raisins, currants, a mélange of citrus, and yet perfectly malty. And that's just the nose! After a medium-weight mouthfeel, the long finish is replete with caramels, roasted pecans, chocolate covered espresso beans, and Werther's Originals. And what a finish -- wafting away slowly with ever lessening crescendos.