Bowmore on bourbon: guarantee for success?
Bowmore has been off the grid for a few years when it comes to independent expressions, but I notice a change. Of course, the more exclusive and therefore less affordable expressions were always there, but at entry level we missed out. For today’s session, we put some youngsters on the table, and for good measure we will still throw in one of those (fantastic) older bottlings.
Bowmore 8 years old, vintage 2016, bottled at 46 % abv by Douglas Laing
First things first: Distilled in May 2016 and bottled in June 2024 after maturing in a refill barrel DL reference #19081. A single cask that produced 316 bottles. Bottled under the Provenance label.
Upon Sipping: Bowmore reaches such a fruity perfection at young age already, it is just stunning. To be so tropically fruity at young age really surprises me. The peat smoke is just riddled with peaches, passion fruit, white grapes, tinned can mango juice and the slightest reference to cat pee. Yes, that is a smell we like in whisky, don’t ask. It almost seems as if Bowmore dialled back the peat influence on their spirit. I remember youngsters like this one that were explosive in peat character. This is a totally different beast. The body on this Bowmore is even a little thin, with dry fruits on the tongue, like maybe an apple that is past its prime. On the finish we are greeted with (finally) the smoky punch we were missing until now. As if it was lying low to jump on us from the bushes. I love the sweet and smoky vanilla on the palate.
Word to the Wise: Impressive Islay whisky from Bowmore, that only falls short just a little on the middle part of the experience. The nose is hard to beat, so complete and juicy, and the finish will satisfy peat lovers that prefer it subtle.
Score: 84 points.
Bowmore 10 years old, vintage 2014, bottled at 61,1 % abv by Douglas Laing
First things first: An Old Particular bottling especially for Whiskybase. DL # 17954 was a refill barrel that produced 238 bottles. Distilled in July 2014 and bottled exactly 10 years later in July 2024.
Upon Sipping: What a fierce abv on this Bowmore eh? Let’s see if it hurts (a little). The nose is a little difficult to get into at this volume, but I can already notice it is less fruity and more complex than the 8 years old Provenance. More waxes, some dirtiness, somehow more maritime. A careful sip of this soft Bowmore is easy to handle, which is surprising of course. But yeah, this is a lot less fruity, and more brooding and farmy in style. Weird how different it is, since it is more or less the same whisky as before, save the two extra years in the cask. Lemon and peat, grapefruit instead of the mango and passion fruit we have come to love. It remains rather closed up with a splash of water. It lacks the playfulness of the Provenance, but shows a more serious side. Even a whisper of something floral, like mint or eucalyptus. One to wrestle with.
Word to the Wise: On pure quality, this surpasses the Provenance, but it does not entertain me as much as I would have hoped. Whisky that is still at 61 % abv after 10 years should always make you cautious, and this Bowmore seems to underline that. Some balance is missing.
Score: 85 points.
Bowmore 23 years old, vintage 1995, bottled at 56,6 % abv by Morrison and MacKay
First things first: We know and love 1995 Bowmore on sherry, but this is a bourbon cask with the number 2527 carrying Bowmore distilled on 5 December 1995 and bottled on 28 January 2019. This hogshead produced just 150 bottles.
Upon Sipping: My first experience with this Bowmore was in a blind tasting. I went from (indeed) Bowmore, to Kildalton coast, to Bruichladdich. Let us retaste it. A very mature and vanilla scented nose, with the years just dripping off it. Wood notes to the fore, but also whiffs of light smoke and some honey comb too, to confuse us more. Almost a highland style Islay malt, like Caol Ila used to make them. This Bowmore carries some floral or even perfumy notes, as an echo from the dreaded 1980s. After some breathing more fruity notes emerge. So, in short, complex stuff! The alcohol provides quite some spice, and not in a Dune kind of way. The vanilla sweetness is very present, and actually undermines the fruity notes. Those typical tropical notes are clearly lurking in the background, but kept down by the strong impact of the maturation. So: water! Nah, it does not really provoke the aroma that I want, it turns more into a candy store with a lot of gummi bears, some sugar powder and faint whiffs of toilet cleaner. I blame a less than perfect integration between spirit, cask and peat. The taste is more balanced, but the fruitiness is not allowed to really shine, with on top of that a rather timid finish.
Word to the Wise: Not the best example of mid-nineties Bowmore. Perhaps a sherry cask works better with the style of distillate from that era. Weird, taking into consideration the previous samples, I truly adore bourbon matured Bowmore, but this sample leaves me cold.
Score: 85 points.