Bowmore, 3 decades: 17yo Cooper’s Choice 1995/2013, Official 1965, 12yo Jewels of Scotland 1989
The slenderness of the spirit stills is a little surprising no?
So the order for this line up is a bit strange. That’s not unexpected because Bowmore is one distillery with a variety of styles through the decades, so the order is simply determined by the power on the nose.
Also some interesting releases from Bowmore recently – like an expensive NAS Devil’s cask III, and a mizunara finished whisky. I should try to get a sample of the latter. I have heard it was pretty good.
Bowmore 17 yo Cooper’s Choice 1995/2013 46%
Nose: Several things jump up at once. Best I can say is a handful of lime leaves, a handful of chalk. Throw that into a mortar. Board a puffer laden with peated malt and with a bit of a smoky engine problem. God the sea looks choppy. Someone split some diesel. As soon as you see Islay, start mashing that pestle. I love that lime leaf plus chalk note I seem to get in 90s Bowmore.
Palate: Mildly sweet, peat and smoke seem stronger here. Ah malt bins! Salted lime leaves now, real chalky kaolin solution side to it. Touches of unripe green stonefruit.
Finish: Long enough. touch of diesel, more smoke, trailing peat, acidic tang or unripe fruit.
What a difference 10 years makes. I find this 90s style of Bowmore the daily drinker kind of Islay. This is praise by the way!
Bowmore Official Bottling 1965 43%, mid-80s bottling
Nose: Fruity. Just so. Mango and passionfruit juice. Warm and delicious but not explosive. Candles or wax paper, or could that be the glass? Has something pliable in it. Some granite chips. Develops into an old tub of balm and dried eucalyptus leaf ‘oldness’.
Palate: More citrusy on the tongue, and fruity sweet aromas float about. It’s not powerful but more complex. Quickly gets on with thick oils like lipstick, quite some ground sand and something glassy. Slight antiseptic side too. Becomes saltier, and licorice root? Tad weak on the palate.
Finish: Long but not ‘obvious’, citrus aftertaste. More glass. Still fruity after a few minutes.
Beautiful old fruitiness and complexity. Though suffers from the low abv I think. Even then great development.
Bowmore 12yo Jewels of Scotland 1989 50%
Nose: Quite a lot of peat here. Big smoke and chunks of rock salt. Seaweed and an ashtray. The most overtly maritime of the three, but doesn’t move much from there. Touches of fennel and coriander.
Palate: Ok this will be straightforward. Brine, smoke, ash, peat, with a semi-sweet herby side, I keep getting coriander, or is it lime leaves again. Some menthol too. Very simple.
Finish: Medium long, smoke and smoked herbs – aniseed or fennel. Celery.
Simple straightforward answer to the question: What is a generic peaty whisky? Not that it’s bad, just rather plain.
Whiskyrific RSS
- Lagavulin 10 yo 1988 / 1998 Horae Solaris Moon Import 50% vs Lagavulin 1988 Samaroli 56%
- Tomatin 23 yo 1981 / 2005 Whisky Wizard #18244 46% vs Tomatin 34 yo 1976 / 2010 The Whisky Agency & 3Rivers 51.1%
- Bunnahabhain 26 yo 1987 Highland Laird 51.1% vs Bunnahabhain 25 yo 1988 / 2013 La Maison du Whisky Artist 3 #18745 56.3%
- Glen Garioch 1993 / 2014 Spirit & Cask Range #1794 52.9% vs Glen Garioch 25 yo 1990 Old Particular Douglas Laing #10989 56.9%
- Laphroaig 9 yo 2004 / 2013 Hunter Laing ‘Advance Sample’ #10054 50% vs Laphroaig 12 yo 2002 / 2014 Distillery only self fill cask #6930 57%
- Glenfiddich 18 yo 40% vs Glenfiddich 37 yo 1964 / 2001 Ian Macleod #10791 58.7%
- Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold 43% vs Dalwhinnie Lizzie’s Dram 48% vs Dalwhinnie distillery only 2008 / 2019 American Oak Single Cask 63.4% vs Dalwhinnie distillery only 2008 / 2019 Bodega Sherry Single Cask 63%
- Domaine Dupont Millésime 1977 Calvados 42%
- Benrinnes 28 yo 1984 / 2013 Old & Rare Hunter Laing 49.8% vs Benrinnes 16 yo 1980 / 1996 Blackadder #1350 61.2%
- Teaninich 34 yo 1983 / 2018 Berry Bros for Shinanoya #6729 46.2% vs Teaninich 18 yo James MacArthur (bottled 1991 ~ distilled circa 1973) 58.4% vs Teaninich SMWS 59.5
