A few Bowmores


January 31, 2022

A few Bow mores
There's a new version of Bowmore 9 official that's to be found pretty much everywhere in French supermarkets for a few Euros (around 25-28), let's try it. We'll then try to tackle a few indies, as usual…

Bowmore 9 yo (40%, OB, +/-2021)

Rather bizarrely, this bottle has been reimported from Spain. The colour is rather orange, even and not very bright, which always suggests that a lot of caramel has been added. Colour: gold/orangey. Nose: well, this is typical Bowmore, very coastal and briny, we're nosing a large plate of smoked oysters sprinkled with a little teppanyaki sauce. Or is that teriyaki? I always confuse those names, the sweeter one… A little cranberry juice too, even raspberry jelly. Where does that come from. Still a very nice nose, though…Mouth: not that light at 40% vol., very salty, with just these notes of caramel that would get in the way. Indeed, that caramel that you're not supposed to feel in Scotch whiskies… But that would also impart notes of salted butter fudge and that, my friend, just always works. This baby would then become a tad more unlikely, with some slightly rubbery nuttiness, possibly from some 'cheaper' sherry casks. Still good. Finish: medium and even saltier. Black olives with crumbles of fudge and some kind of grassy liquorice. No 'lavender', naturally. Only the aftertaste is a tad flabby and strangely cardboardy. Comments: forgot to mention pasta de sardinhas, a very Portuguese delicacy. And very salty Bowmore.
SGP:366 - 84 points.

Let's let the indies unfold as they wish…

Bowmore 'Sailing Seagull' (50.4, Regensburger Whisky Club, 2018)

A multi-decade vatting of 1960s to 2000s Bowmore done a few years back by our friends in Germany. This should be rather fascinating, as long as the 1980s do not dominate this composition; we understand each other, do we not. Colour: bronze gold. Nose: of course you're a little lost at first, as pink bananas and guavas mixed with brine and coal tar is not a very common combination. I would say the tropical fruits do seem to have the upper hand, which would suggest that the older component in there does not consist in 'only a few drops', as any official entity would have done. No? Now it remains a tad quiet, let's see… With (a little) water: smoky plastics, bananas flambéed, ashes and old coat in a rainy country. It took off! Mouth (neat): some sherry, roasted nuts, bulldog sauce, Marmite, certainly some Maggi blended with cough syrup, indeed coal tar, snuff, onion soup, cigar smoke, beef jerky, quite a lot of tar liqueur, beech ashes… The mouthfeel is rather creamy. Some bittersweet notes in the background (drier cream sherry, drier amoroso). With water: add only a few drops or it would pull a apart a wee bit. Otherwise it becomes very complex, on many kinds of bitters and herbal liqueurs, tobacco, oyster sauce… Finish: long and even drier. A very old sweet wine that's digested all its sugars, as we say. Sauternes – indeed with some botrytis. Bone dry. Comments: forgot to say, I rather love this one. Most probably not only the result of chance. Next, a perfect vatting of Brora and Clynelish. Game?
SGP:275 - 91 points.

Bowmore 23 yo 1997/2021 (50.3%, Hunter Laing, The First Edition, MaltCask & Dadi Liquor, refill hogshead, cask #HL18332, 272 bottles)

In theory, everything should be fine. Colour: white wine. Nose: sharp, medicinal (mercurochrome), Sancerre-y (sauvignon blanc indeed), with some chalk and a little sour cream, Swiss cheese, Greek yoghurt… All things that work well in such whiskies. With water: gets rather fatter, more on toasted bread, bread pudding, then just yoghurt sauce (for kebab) and then raw wool, which is more common in these Bowmores. Good fun. Mouth (neat): peppered seawater and lemon liqueur. Some fatness, touches of smoked salmon, green bell pepper, Thai basil… It's a rather robust one and not quite one of those vertical late-1990s Bowies. I mean Bowmores. With water: everything falls into place, even if it would remain fattish. Rather a lot of pepper, ala Talisker. Something reminiscent of pencil shavings too, ala… Caran d'Ache. Finish: long, with some lovely spices that are not easy to pin down: wood or distillate? Comments: not too easy but very good, pretty green in fact.
SGP:376 - 87 points.

Bowmore 17 yo 2003/2021 (57.8%, The Single Malts of Scotland, barrel, cask #81, 209 bottles)

This should be appropriately minimal. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: it is appropriately minimal, with some rather sumptuous whiffs of rhubarb and white asparagus (we can't wait to try the first ones this year), plus pink grapefruits. Immaculate. With water: have I mentioned big white asparagus? I'm even thinking Erfurts. Mouth (neat): immaculate indeed, pristine, beautifully simple, just a wee tad fattish around the edges (the barrel) but that is nothing. Lovely salted citrus. With water: tarter, more on lemon, seawater, kippers, chalk and oysters. In other words, Bowmore. Finish: once again the barrel is imparting a few unnecessary toasted/butterscotch notes but that's absolutely nothing. Comments: all about style, as are all the best ones in my book.
SGP:466 - 88 points.

Bowmore 16 yo 2004 (55.2%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, 2nd fill barrel, #3.321, 'Treat Yourself!', 160 bottles, +/-2021)

Love this name, looks like they were on an empty stomach when they came up with this one. Colour: bright straw. Nose: mercurochrome, smoked salmon, touch of antirust paint, garden bonfire (lots of leaves) and a tiny hint of juniper. Very nice. Green gooseberries. With water: on the greener side. Just cut grass, a tiny whiff of pinewood smoke. Mouth (neat): immaculate. Smoked gooseberries in lime juice. More tart fruits, less chalky/coastal notes this time. With water: excellent, with unexpected notes of thyme and rosemary. Provence herbs. Finish: rather long, salty, a tad leafier again. A little gritty, with a lot of green pepper. Coal and tar in the aftertaste, that's fun. A little eucalyptus too. Comments: a very good cask, with lovely, subtle nuances. Treat yourself! (S., we're floored).
SGP:367 - 87 points.

Five is a good number. We'll have more tomorrow…

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