Beware of the Bowmore Bombastic!
That the whisky market is changing at a speedy rate, no one will have missed. Of course, this threatens jobs in the industry and might lead to closures or mothballing of distilleries. These cycles seem to repeat themselves every so many years. Sad but inevitable. So for a whole generation, it will probably be the first time they experience it, as the last whisky boom was almost unprecedented. Sales skyrocketing and new distilleries popping up like mushrooms in a way that was truly unique. With the cooling down of the market, we see also benefits for the every day whisky lover.
I want to zoom in on one particular movement, and that is the availability of an abundance of Bowmore Islay single malt casks. Every independent bottler must know this, and have seen the offers. During the Whiskysite Festival in Leiden in the weekend of 6 June 2026, I spoke to a few of these entrepreneurs. Some of them admit to having bought as many as almost ten casks of Bowmore whisky, ranging over varying ages, mostly from vintage 2004 and younger. Quite a few of them have been bottled, as I could sample some delicious examples at various importers and bottlers, including Living Souls, Cadenhead’s, Boogieman and Unchartered. Myself, I have acquired some drops from The Whisky Agency, including one we will taste today. These are good times for consumers and collectors, as prices are going down and availability up. This style of Bowmore is strongly reminiscent of the better (tropical fruity) Bowmore from the late 1960s. More is coming, beware of the Bowmore bombastic!
There are also whispers of quite some casks of Glendronach being offered on the market. Ssst, you did not hear it from me, but if you see a certain style of “secret highland” pop up in the near future, it won’t be Clynelish. Anyway, these are good times to try stuff and buy high quality (Islay malt and more) that was out of reach for many. Enjoy!
Bowmore 20 years old, 2005 – 2026, bottled at 51,8 % abv by The Whisky Agency
First things first: Not too much information, besides the vintage year and when it was bottled from a first fill bourbon barrel for the tenth anniversary of Deinwhisky.de.
Upon Sipping: You just feel the beautiful fruity notes scrambling underneath a layer of minerals to come out and grab you. Stonefruit, freshly baked apple pie with yellow apples, an inviting fruit salad, with some exotic species in there. Amazing nose, and when you swirl the glass some hints of dry earth and maritime aroma. Then a sip. On the palate, this Bowmore reveals more of the Islay side of things. Lemon zest, mango, some ginger and some tea leaves, yellow apples again. Only on the finish is there a delicate but welcome hint of peat smoke, that keeps the throat warm long after swallowing. Water does not do much for the nose, perhaps more fresh sea breeze. On the palate it is definitely a tad more salty, but the ginger more pronounced, while the vitamin C shot you get from all this fruitiness keeps on playing unbothered. A summer day on Islay, basking in the sun.
Word to the Wise: Peak Bowmore can be unicorn whisky. This is one of these examples. I would say it is foolish not to stock up, but since there is a plethora of Bowmore out there already, and a lot more coming, just make sure you don’t miss at least one of them! In any case, this is one of the best I have tried so far.
Score: 91 points.