Review
211
4/24/14
Bowmore
12 Year: 40% abv
Background: Welcome
back to Islay for another Single Malt Scotch review. KCM tends to stray away
from the 40% bottlings, but Bowmore is a distillery we haven’t yet visited, so
here’s our due diligence. Bowmore is actually the oldest licensed distillery on
Islay, and produces a significant amount of malted barley in house, which is
presently an uncommon occurrence. Bowmore also ages a good portion of their
whiskies in house. This being said, the Bowmore brand sits in the middle of the
peat spectrum, and lacks in the craft presentation that many of their competitors
have. Bowmore has a lot of potential for improvement from the get go, but where
do they stand in current quality?
Straight
Nose: There
is a lot of interesting notes in this whisky. This whisky has an interesting
leathery note right off the nose. There is a slight peatiness which compliments
the leather notes, along with subtle notes of malt. There is a bit of wood
smoke that suggests itself to the senses, but not too . Floral lavender smell
is also present along with some perfume-like notes. There are some fruit notes,
including over ripened bananas and cherries. You also find some coastal, salty notes in the
whisky, characteristic of the Islay malts. KCM also found this close to the
smell of Worcestershire sauce. This is very original in smell, although
presumably unappealing to some.
Arrival: The
arrival starts off mild, with some burnt sugar, sherry, malt and salty flavors.
There is a slightly medicinal character in the arrival, with some oak charcoal
flavor as well.
Body: The
body has a strong cool mintiness. This mint is very much like mouthwash you
might buy at CVS. There is still some malt flavor in the whisky as well. In addition,
dark flavors of maple and molasses are both present in this whisky. There is a
grainy character in the body, somewhat pushing outside of the barley malt
traditional.
Finish: The
finish sustains the mint and oak flavors, with a bit of malt and sea salt.
There is plenty of mineral notes, and a vegetal, peaty note to the finish as
well. There is a leathery, wood char note as well. Although the finish is
unique in flavor, there is no dynamics to the whisky. The finish ends on a
slightly flat note.
Final Comments: Bowmore
is an example of a good whisky with tons of potential. We really enjoyed the
unique flavor profile that Bowmore has to offer, and it sits in stark contrast
to many of the other Islay Scotches we experience. That being said, the low
proof and the presentation of the whisky detracts from the overall quality and
complexity. At the end of the day, this does not stay competitive for a lot of
reasons. Bowmore also edges on the pricier end for what they give you.
Ultimately, this is worth trying, but maybe more of a bar dram than a bottle to
own.
Why you’d buy it: You
want an Islay with a different style.
Why you wouldn’t: You
don’t buy things with minimum credentials.
Score: 8.0/10
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