June 9, 2015

Young Bowmore extravaganza reloaded

Remember a very extreme 2003 by Cadenhead just killed our session yesterday. But this is another day, so let’s try to find one youngster that’s a little less monstrous…

Bowmore 2002/2011 (46%, L'Esprit, hogshead, cask #20148, 392 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: starts very fruity and only marginally smoky, while the briny side’s well there. Some pears and gooseberries, plus plenty of sea air, seawater, seaweed, floated wood… Well, anything from the sea. The whole’s perhaps not utterly complex, but it’s very fresh and easy. Should go well on oysters. Mouth: there are very discreet touches of lavender or rather violet sweets that may hint at the 1980s, but they’re soon to be offset by a very salty and briny rush/ Like eating oysters indeed, with drops of Tabasco and lemon juice. The whole is very, very coastal. Little oak influence. Finish: long, very salty. You just had a dozen oysters without even noticing. Comments: classic fresh and clean young Bowmore. I’m all for it. SGP:456 - 84 points.

Bowmore 13 yo 2001/2014 (57.1%, Cadenhead, Swiss Special, 282 bottles)

I really find it funny that they’ve put the year of bottling so big on the label. I imagine some people might believe this is new make ;-). Colour: white wine. Nose: completely different, this one is very chalky, mineral, rather on beach sand and limestone at first nosing, with also a very fresh manzanilla-like profile, with ultra-fresh walnuts and then rather seaweed. And I’d swear I also find anchovies. With water: some custard coming out, shortbread crumbles… The colour had made me think there would be no oak at all, but there is some vanilla-ed sweetness. Mouth (neat): perfect. Huge lemon, sea salt, grapefruits, kippers and… a little aspirin. Not that you need any, mind you. Immaculate fresh Bowmoreness. With water: makes it more drinkable than the best water. The aspirin/chalk notes remain there. Finish: long, ultra zesty. An Islay mojito. Comments: no quibbles, this is pristine young Bowmore. And it’s not monstrous. SGP:457 - 88 points.

Bowmore 12 yo 2001/2014 (57.9%, Signatory Vintage for La Maison du Whisky, refill sherry, cask #1368, 595 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: the base is a young Bowmore, with added raisiny/apricoty touches that, in fact, seem to generate medicinal notes. Embrocations, some kind of lemony camphor… The winey side never stops growing after that, and we’re kind of cycling along the River Loire. That’s right, there’s some chenin blanc aplenty. Unusual, and fun. And nice. With water: a working kiln somewhere between Saumur and Angers. Mouth (neat): oh the chenin (yeah I know there’s no chenin in this) and Bowmore’s whistle-clean coastalness seem to work a treat. They’re tangoing. With water: quinces, salty oysters, golden raisins, grapefruits, brine… Having said that you have to be careful with water, it swims but not like a champ. Finish: long, a wee tad sweet. Comments: yeah right, sherry. I’m sure it was a cask from the houses Papin or Nicolas, or something like that. Vouvray? Montlouis? Savennières? Please tell us! SGP:546 - 88 points.

Bowmore 13 yo 2001/2014 (57.2%, Blackadder, hogshead, cask #20066, 292 bottles)

I know I had promised we’d quote Black Adder every time we’re having a whisky by Blackadder. How about this: "It's up to you. Either you can shut up, or you can have your head cut off." No no no, that had nothing to do with whisky bloggers. Colour: white wine. Nose: different, much harsher, almost acetic. Rather bone-dry sauvignon from the west coast than chenin, I’d say. Seawater, smoked stones, caper juice… What a difference a cask makes! With water: dusty limestone, hessian, nylon trousers. Mouth (neat): very blade-y, this is almost a pair of scissors. Very sharp smoky and mineral lemon juice. Bang! With water: gets a tad sweeter and gentler. Well, no, not really, despite the touches of pears and peaches, it remains some blade-y Bowmore. Finish: long, sharp, angular. Angular? Comments: this baby would stand up to the artisan-est mezcals or clairins. You see, it’s all about the distillate. SGP:467 - 89 points.

Agreed, we’ve had enough 2001s. But we have no 2000 at hand, let’s jump to 1999…

Bowmore 14 yo 1999 (54.5%, Exclusive Malts, bourbon, 347 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: this one’s really more austere, almost closed, with only a little lemon zest, broken branches, maybe green olives in brine… Water should wake it up! With water: it’s rather the barley that comes out, barnyard, kiln, porridge… So let’s call it ‘a shy young Bowmore’. Mouth: not sleeping at all on the palate, and it’s rather a fruity one, ridden with lemons, oranges, tangerines, touches of passion fruits… All that on a bed of seaweed and, once again, an obvious minerality, around limestone. But yeah, it’s rather a fruity one. With water: fruit syrup with drops of brine and smoked water. Rather mild globally, civilised, gentle. The opposite of the 2003 by Cadenhead we had yesterday. Finish: still pretty long, a little leafy and herbal. The fruits have left. The aftertaste is more coastal and grassy. Comments: very good ‘of course’, but I found this baby rather less ‘obvious’ than most others. High quality anyway. SGP:555 - 83 points.

Let’s try another 1999 just to be sure…

Bowmore 15 yo 1999/2014 (56.4%, The Single Malts of Scotland, bourbon, cask #800215, 266 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: a little bizarre, as if some tropical fruits (especially bananas) were trapped somewhere… There are interesting echoes of 1966-1968, if you see what I mean, also plenty of fruit peelings, and a very moderate ‘modern’ Bowmoreness (coastal, mineral, lemony). What’s the trick? With water: water! Seriously, it reeks of seawater blended with tinned peaches and barley water. Loses me a bit, are we sure about the vintage, London? Mouth (neat): gentle fruits indeed, from mangos to passion fruits. As if the wizards in London had blended it with some 1976 Tomatin or Benriach. A very discreet touch of soap in the background. Oh and some seawater. With water: very gentle. Salty sweets, not-too-ripe mangos, and even bits of vanilla fudge. Finish: quite long, saltier. The smoke’s relatively minimal. Yes I wrote ‘relatively’. Comments: I’d call it a mindboggling young Bowmore. To be poured blind to your friends. SGP:655 - 85 points.

Let’s not overextend our forces, time to call this a session. We’ll have more tomorrow. In fact, we may have Bowmores all week…

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