Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 43%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added coloring: Yes
Owner: Suntory
Average price: € 340.00
Official website: www.bowmore.com
Vote: 75/100
This quarter-century bottling is, at the moment, the most aged in Bowmore’s portfolio, produced in several vintages since 2004 with the label changing over time.
The one you find in this article is from the version produced in 2013 (the subsequent ones, from 2017 and 2021, differ in design), 8,000 bottles made with distillate from at least 1988, thus touching on a period considered by many not exactly happy for the quality of the spirit produced. And unfortunately with colour alterations and chillfiltration.
But let’s be confident and approach with trepidation a whisky that will certainly not leave you indifferent.
Tasting notes
The nose opens with pleasantly coastal and maritime impressions, an intense wave of saltiness and iodine pervading the nostrils with a tasty injection of grilled scallops. Fleshy red fruits, baked apple, blood orange, a touch of ripe peach and a vague hint of burnt plastic emerge among the waves. Some violet softener peeps out at the back, without intrusiveness but with stubborn persistence. Harmonious but with a few cues.
The violet part explodes in the mouth in a brazen manner, leaving a patina on the palate that remains throughout the drink tending to overpower the other flavours, with the smoke becoming pungent losing its coastal qualities, accompanying a mix of red fruits and citrus fruits resting on tropical hints and dark chocolate. The texture of mineral impressions appears frayed but present, with a somewhat jaunty black pepper punctuation. But in the long run, the violets break through and take over everything.
The finish is quite long and dry, obviously violet, delicate smoke, red fruits, saline touches and mentholated hints.
The presence of the violet is so intrusive that it’s difficult to discern anything else on the palate, making the whole thing a laundry mash at times really annoying, wasting the taste of other nuances that show unfortunately unexpressed potential.
A real shame, unless of course you love violets.