December 4, 2014

A bag of Bowmore part five

We're going on with our 'sliced' Bowmore session...

Bowmore 2001/2014 (50.9%, The Whisky Agency and Three Rivers Tokyo, refill hogshead, 272 bottles)

Colour: pale white wine. Nose: similar, and yet we have a bigger minerality. More oils, grasses (or cut cactus) and waxes as well, with some soot and seaweed. Prickly pears. With water: works wonders. Pink grapefruit and zesty spices, green peppercorns. Mouth (neat): much better than the 2002. Salty lemon juice and smoked fish. All that is sharp, narrow, clean and great. With water: perfect, the best use of water. There is a kind of grassy bitterness remaining in the background, not an unpleasant one, while salted lemons and grapefruits are having fun in the front. Goody good. Finish: quite long, rather peppery. A note of artichoke. Comments: maybe was 2001 a better vintage than 2002. SGP:555 – 86 points.

Bowmore 14 yo 1999/2014 (51.4%, First Editions, refill hogshead, 188 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: not a very peaty one, not a very coastal one, and not a very fruity one. In fact it’s all pretty subtle, with notes of asparagus – which I adore - and grapefruits, plus fresh almonds and oysters. I think I like this one a lot. With water: a plateful of oysters with a little liquid smoke spread over them. And some Bowmore of course. A touch of raw wool as well. Mouth (neat): excellent. A ‘riesling’ Bowmore – or would that be Pouilly-Fumé? – with a lovely earthiness, some mandarin, passion fruits, a stony smoke, and then maybe rhubarb. No raw b*****d this time. With water: excellent balance between the fruits (don’t I find pineapples?) and the briny smoke. Also a bit of liquorice. Finish: quite long, a little earthier. Roots. Comments: do you believe in vintages in Scotch whisky? Not the first excellent 1999 Bowmore I’ve tried. SGP:456 - 88 points.

Hold on, we’ve had 2002, 2001, 1999… We may have missed…

Bowmore 14 yo 2000/2014 (54.4%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange, bourbon, cask #800093, 233 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: this one seems to be much more mineral and grassy, I also find paraffin, almond oil and linseed oil. Not a very expressive one so far, but maybe is it ready to explode, let’s see… With water: not quite, it got rather rounder, with some vanilla and earth. A farmy side, as often with Bowmore. A little eucalyptus. Mouth (neat): the fruitiest so far. Burst with passion fruits and mangos, then lemons and Kool cigarettes. A bit of curry and even wasabi in the background. A sharpy fellow despite the arrival of a bit of coconut, probably from the bourbon cask. With water: reminds me of the first official Tempest, honest. Creamy tropical fruits plus a peppery peat on a bed of vanilla and coconut – no Malibu though. The bourbon cask feels a bit. Finish: rather long, relatively sweet and rounded, with white pepper in the aftertaste. Comments: I did feel the bourbon wood a bit, but other than that all very, very fine. Modern style Bowmore, this could have been an OB in my opinion. SGP:654 - 85 points.

Check the index of all Bowmore I've tasted so far