Category Archives: Bowmore

Bowmore, “Small Batch”

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Bowmore Small Batch
This is the recent NAS Bowmore—it was released a few years ago in the UK and Europe and only arrived much later in the US, as is not unusual. As per the distillery, it contains malt matured in first and second fill ex-bourbon casks and then married together. I can’t recall whether it replaces the Legend or if it’s just going to sit alongside it at the bottom of their price list. It’s hard to keep track of Bowmore these days: they seem to release a new whisky every other day for regular or travel retail. Like the Legend, this one is at 40% abv, which seems a little too low these days for even entry-level whisky. You’d think something with the words “small batch” slapped on the label would carry at least a bit more punch and be unchillfiltered. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.

The Legend (which was my first review on the blog) is/was a drinkable, inoffensive whisky—what will this one be like?  Continue reading →

Bowmore 18

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Bowmore 18
The blog turns 2 today. My first review was of the entry-level Bowmore Legend and I marked the first anniversary last year with a review of the Bowmore 12. As I don’t have any of the 15 yo Darkest at hand, this year I have the Bowmore 18. This is a malt I haven’t had in many years now, and one that seems to get lost in the shuffle among whisky geeks (and the biggest of all whisky geeks really doesn’t like it). You don’t find people talking about this as much as about 18 yo whiskies from most other distilleries of similar stature and it rarely seems to be recommended to anyone looking for a (relatively) older bottle.

Serge’s redoubtable influence aside, some of this is, I’m sure, due to lingering phobia about older Bowmores on account of the problems of the 1980s distillate; some of it is probably due to the fact that it continues to be bottled at 43% with chill-filtration and a fake tan; and some of it is probably due to the fact that the distillery itself has been making most of its noise in recent years around limited editions like the Tempest, Laimrig and the Devil’s Casks. While these three limited editions are not NAS there does seem to be more of that now at Bowmore than ever before: the Small Batch has joined the Legend in the core range, and only one of the three new Islay beach-themed travel retail exclusives is not NAS (the White Sands 17). Well, Bowmore has been putting out a large range of whisky for some time now—there’s probably little reason to worry about middle-aged bottles disappearing. Continue reading →

Bowmore 11, 2002 (Exclusive Malts for K&L)

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Bowmore 11, 2002I received a sample of this Bowmore 11 in a swap with Michael K. of Diving for Pearls and after I received it I realized I already had an unopened bottle of it. I finally opened it a few months ago for one of our local group’s tastings and we finished the rest of the bottle at our August tasting—I occasionally repeat bottles that were contentious in some way or the other to see if our responses might change as the whisky does with time and air. I’d planned to review it when the bottle had just been opened but didn’t get around to it because I read Michael’s review and wanted to forget about it before tasting—and then I forgot about the whisky completely. This review is of the last pour from the bottle, but please keep in mind that the evening before this had been at the halfway point—so it’s not a hugely oxidized pour that’s been sitting at the very bottom of the bottle for a long time (and the bottle itself was only open for less than five months).

(I’d also assumed I’d photographed the bottle when I’d originally planned to review it but while posting this review realized I never had: hence the picture of the empty bottle.) Continue reading →

Bowmore 10, Devil’s Casks, 1st Ed.

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Bowmore, Devil's Casks
This was released late last year to a fair bit of acclaim. I believe it is fetching ludicrous prices on the secondary market in Europe. In a conscious attempt to stop chasing every new “noisy” release I passed on a bottle—ditto with this year’s Ardbeg Supernova. It was a bit of a tough decision though as Bowmore is one of my favourites and good sherried Bowmore, in particular, is one of life’s great, and quite unique, pleasures. (See my reviews of some I’ve liked a lot: here, here and here). Courtesy a sample swap, however, I get to taste it anyway—hopefully, this will not lead to too much regret.

There’s a second edition out, by the way. Despite the frenzy that erupted around the first release, Bowmore has kept the price of the second edition the same—to their great credit. There are stories though of unscrupulous retailers in Europe marking it up dramatically or in some cases even selling bottles at auction. I wonder what the story will be when it gets to the US. Continue reading →

Bowmore 16, 1996 (Faultline)

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Bowmore 16, 1996, Faultline
This Bowmore 16 was one of K&L’s cask selections for 2013 that was delayed and finally arrived in early 2014. It’s been the subject of some mixed reviews since, with at least one prominent (ex?)blogger recording very less than enthused notes on it while the purveyor reports that many customers like it a lot (see the comments on Tim’s post). Me, I’ve not had any bad mid-1990s Bowmores, especially from sherry casks and so I was not overly bummed to read Tim’s pan. Bowmore can be an idiosyncratic spirit and there are other bottles, official and indie, from the distillery that I seem to like a lot more than many others.

Accordingly, I opened the bottle for our local group’s tasting in June and the response was all over the map. A few in the group had it as their top whisky of the night, a few had it at the bottom, and most had it somewhere in the middle (we drink one ounce each of four whiskies). Personally, I liked the nose and thought it was otherwise pedestrian but not objectionable. The bottle went to the halfway mark that night and I haven’t tried it since. Let’s see what I make of it now. Continue reading →

Bowmore 22, 1989 (Liquid Sun)

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Bowmore 22, Liquid SunHere is another Bowmore from the edge of the danger zone. There is no great tension in this preamble though as I’ve had it before and know it doesn’t have any of the dreaded soapy or perfumey notes that ran riot at Bowmore in the 1980s. This was bottled by Liquid Sun, which I believe is just another imprint of the Whisky Agency (the well-known German indie outfit). As to whether there’s some method to what goes under the main imprint and what goes under the Liquid Sun imprint, I don’t know–it may just be a way of getting large numbers of releases to stand out in the marketplace.

Bowmore 22, 1989 (50.7%; Liquid Sun; bourbon hogshead; from my own bottle)

Nose: Dry, minerally smoke with a fair bit of salt on the edges. Then some seashells and sweet iodine–quite coastal. There’s an almost earthy note too or maybe it’s wet sackcloth. With a little more time there’s some lime. Quite mellow, on the whole. With more time there’s a buttery quality and a touch of pepper too. With a drop of water the lime expands and becomes more zesty/bitter, indeed starts moving towards citronella, but then the butteriness comes back again. Continue reading →

Bowmore 15, 1990 (James MacArthur)

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Bowmore 15 (James MacArthur)
I continue my daring exploration of Bowmores from the fringes of their dangerous period with this 15 yo from 1990. Will this provide further support for my hypothesis that the problems at Bowmore had largely cleared up as early as 1990? Let’s see (and please keep in mind that my experience of this period is very limited compared to most geeks).

This is the last of three James MacArthur bottles split with Michael K. and Florin (who, as you may recall, is the sheriff of a small community in the Inland Empire and the author of such novels as Gravity’s Rainbow and The Crying of Lot 49). This review is also being simulposted with Michael’s at Diving for Pearls. [And here now is the link to Michael’s review.]

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Bowmore 12

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bowmore12
Today is the first anniversary of my blog going live. It didn’t actually go live to the world on March 24, 2013–I don’t think I told anyone about it until April but my first post and my first review went up a year ago. I know, it’s terribly exciting. It seemed important to mark this momentous occasion in an appropriate manner, and so here is a review of the Bowmore 12. As my first review was of the Bowmore Legend you can see that this is an allegory for the remarkable rise in the status of my blog in the last year. By my second anniversary I expect to have tens of readers and will celebrate accordingly with a review of the Bowmore 15, Darkest. But all this sentiment is making my fingers quiver on the keyboard, so let’s get right to it.

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Bowmore 11, 2000 (Hunter Hamilton)

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hunterhamiltonbowmore112000

This Bowmore was bottled by Hunter Hamilton (one of the 5000 Douglas Laing spin-offs) under the Sovereign label for K&L in California in 2011. I purchased it in 2012, and opened it late last year for a Bowmore tasting with friends, where it was very well received. As I’ve noted before, I have my issues, to put it mildly, with much of K&L’s marketing, but I’ve generally liked their selections a lot and this is no different.

Bowmore 11, 2000 (57.5%; Hunter Hamilton for K&L; from my own bottle)

Nose: Raisins and apricot jam at first. Then a meaty/savoury quality mixed in with something inky–almost gamy. Gets fruitier as it sits with some honeyed citrus poking its way out through the darker notes. Not a whole lot of smoke but it’s there underneath, tying everything together. The fruit and the Bowmore flowers get stronger with time. Really quite nice. With water there’s some cream or maybe it’s shortbread. Continue reading →

Bowmore 21, 1982 (Prime Malt)

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Bowmore 21, 1982
Yes, a bottle from the very beginning of Bowmore’s dark period in the 1980s (see here for my thoughts about all of that and for a review of an underwhelming official bottling from the tail end of the decade). This is from a mysterious outfit called Prime Malt who seem to have only operated in the US. Michael Kravitz has more information about them in the fourth paragraph of his review of this same whisky and also in the comments (he got his sample from the same source: Florin who comments often on both our blogs). This one was billed as “Prime Malt Selection No. 4”; I’m not sure how many selections there were from this bottler/label.

The last 1982 I tasted–(also) from Duncan Taylor–had the notorious soap on the palate and finish but no real offensive perfumed notes. Will this one be any better or worse? Continue reading →

Bowmore 20, 1991, Cask 2061 (A.D. Rattray)

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Rattray Bowmore 20, 2061
Another Bowmore from A.D. Rattray who seem to have a pipeline to a lot of excellent Bowmores from the early-mid 1990s. This is the period right after Bowmore’s notorious run in the 1980s, associated with soapy and perfumed notes. I’ve expressed my views about the nature of the talk around that period before and so will not repeat them here. I’ve also noted that none of the 1990s Rattray Bowmores I’ve had have been anything less than good, and I’ve had another sherry cask from 1991 (an 18 yo, cask 2075) that was excellent. As this seems like it must be from the same distillation run I’m hoping #2061 was as good a cask as #2075 was. Let’s get to it.

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Bowmore 1996, “Wanted: The Smallest Whisky Shop on Four Wheels” (Jack Wieber)

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BowmoreI referred to this bottle a few weeks ago as bearing perhaps the most whimsical design in Jack Wieber’s “Wanted” series of Bowmores. (Click here for full effect). While the label only notes the distillation year of 1996, an email to the bottlers yielded a very quick clarifying response that it was bottled in 2012 (making it either 15 or 16 years old). Alas, a follow-up email asking for a little more information on the series received no response–but I’m sure they have more important things to do than respond to idiot bloggers.

Bowmore 1996-2012, “Wanted: The Smallest Whisky Shop on Four Wheels” (53.3%; Jack Wieber’s Whisky World, bourbon cask; from a purchased sample.)

Nose: Ah, classic Bowmore flowers with a nice buttery, vanilla topping. And now here comes the sweet peat and brine (like sweet sea urchin), getting minerally and acidic (though not very). Really quite buttery and unctuous. With time the butteriness recedes and is replaced by ozone and something a little more acidic. Water brings out some lemon and brings back the butter/cream: let’s say lemon curd. Continue reading →

Bowmore 1999, “Wanted: The Question Mark Man” (Jack Wieber)

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BowmoreJack Wieber’s Whisky World is yet another German store/independent bottler with a strong reputation for cask selection. Most of their releases seem to be in series–the Old Train Line series, which features some very old whiskies, is very well-known, as is the Castles series. Both of these series have classy labels with a vintage feel (go ahead, look them up on Whiskybase). Their Wanted series, however, which only seems to include bottlings of Bowmore from the late 80s on, adds wackiness to the vintage feel. The labels feature Old West style Wanted poster art and the whiskies have names like “The Loving Brothers”, “The Dead Mouse Eater” (apparently a reference to Serge Valentin), “The Question Mark Man” (which I am reviewing today), and most whimsical of all, “The Smallest Whisky Shop on Four Wheels” (which I will be reviewing in a few days).

While I’m opposed to wackiness for its own sake in every area of life, Jack Wieber’s usually pulls it off with style; and as long as the whisky is good, it’s nice to see bottlers who don’t take themselves too seriously. Too many other independent bottlers choose to go in the opposite direction of a “premium” look and tone, and I find that more tedious (not to mention, usually more expensive). Continue reading →

Bowmore 1994 (BB&R)

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Bowmore 1994This Bowmore 1994 concludes my mini-run of reviews of (mostly) teenaged Bowmores from (mostly) the mid-1990s. This is from Berry Bros. & Rudd and was bottled in 2008–so it is either 13 or 14 years old. While the label did not specify (not that I recall), this is from a bourbon cask.

It was fun to review five Bowmores in a row. The two sherried ones from 1995 had very little smoke in them and very little of the Bowmore flowers and may well have been from a different distillery than the one that produced the bourbon cask matured Tempest and the Whiskybroker 14 yo. I am tempted to ask rhetorically if this bottle will split the difference, and present a bourbon cask Bowmore with mild smoke and floral notes; however, as this is from a bottle I finished some time ago I already know the answer (it is “no”)–this review too is of a pour from a 6 oz reference sample saved when the bottle had reached the halfway mark. And so, let’s get right to it:
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Bowmore Tempest, Batch 1

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Bowmore Tempest Batch 1

This is a 6 oz reference sample taken from my own bottle when it reached the halfway mark. The bottle itself was finished quite some time ago.

Let’s keep the Bowmore festival going a little bit longer, but let’s switch now to bourbon cask Bowmore, beginning with the official Tempest. (For a far more impressive series of Bowmore reviews see Whisky News’ recently concluded tastings that began with two editions of the legendary Black Bowmore.)

The Tempest is cask strength 10 year old Bowmore from first-fill bourbon casks, and is released in batches. The first batch–which I am reviewing tonight–was released in Europe. The US got some of the second batch but then Bowmore ran into labeling trouble on account, I believe, of there being some wine from California named the Tempest (apparently, there are a lot of Americans who go into booze shops looking to buy cheap wine and accidentally leave with expensive whisky). Consequently, Bowmore Tempest is now sold in the US as the Bowmore Dorus Mor, which as you know is Scots Gaelic for “the sound your stomach makes when you catch a whiff at noon, on a day when you accidentally skipped breakfast, of the banh mi someone’s unwrapping 10 feet away “. What that has to do with whisky I don’t know–whatever will these wacky marketers come up with next?!
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Bowmore 13, 1995 (Single Malts of Scotland)

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Bowmore 13, 1995 Single Malts of Scotland
Hard on the heels of yesterday’s excellent Maltmen’s Selection here is another Bowmore 13, 1995, this time an independent bottling done by the Whisky Exchange for their Single Malts of Scotland line. As with the Maltmen’s Selection this is also sherried, but from a single butt. Let’s get right to it:

Bowmore 13, 1995 (56.4%, sherry butt #419; from a sample received in a swap)

Nose: Brandied raisins, some resin/pine. Then ink and slate and something savoury as well. Really quite pungent, but not particularly phenolic or smoky. With time there’s briny sea air, a hint of lime peel and a livery, gamey quality (I think this is what I was first getting as ink and slate). A grassy note as well. With even more time, vinous notes begin to emerge and more classic sherry notes begin to come to the fore (plum jam, fruitcake); but that inky note never goes away. Even later, it’s the lime peel that takes a turn on stage. I could nose this for a really long time: I have a feeling it’s got a few more transformations in it. With a drop of water the savoury note expands in concert with the lime peel. With a minute or two I get strong whiffs of pickling spices. Continue reading →

Bowmore 13, 1995, Maltmen’s Selection

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Bowmore Maltmen's Selection
I received this Bowmore 13 in a swap with my friend Rich in St. Paul who is a few levels above me in the whisky geek universe: while he sits on the Jedi council, I am still trying to get this glass to move a few inches over so I don’t have to get up. This was a special release from Bowmore a couple of years ago and is a vatting of five sherry butts that matured in Bowmore’s legendary No. 1 Vaults, under sea-level and right up against the Atlantic.

I would not normally post an extended review of a whisky I’ve only had one ounce of, as I don’t have the chops to really get as much out of that volume of whisky as some can. Plus, I normally prefer to taste any whisky I review twice and that means only 15 ml each time to spend a lot of time with and try neat and with water. I know there are many people (Rich among them) who can do it, but I am easily distracted. However, this Bowmore is very intense and a little went a long way–I was able to write down detailed enough notes from the one outing.
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