Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 43%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Suntory
Average price: € 6,500.00
Official website: www.bowmore.com
Vote: 96/100
Today’s is practically a legend, considered by most to be the best Bowmore ever.
A decanter that reproduces a past style, created on the occasion (obviously) of the distillery’s bicentenary in 1979, there are several versions of it with different vintages inside, with no precise indication of the years involved.
Thanks to Armin of Zio Whisky, a true vintage whisky enthusiast, I can finally taste this bottling, in the version containing distillate from the 1950s and 1960s aged in ex-Sherry casks.
Today, some of the 24,000 bottles produced are still available at stellar prices, thank goodness that there are friends who are willing to share their treasure!
Tasting notes
You plunge the nose into a basket of ripe fruit, an intense wave of pungent, loaded aromas with mango (a lot), nectarine, chinotto, black cherry, plenty of red fruits (blueberries, prunes, raspberries, blackberries): it is difficult to list them all, so iridescent and overlapping are they, to the point that to produce a list is a sterile and reductive exercise. At times, the fruit is so ripe that there is a slight hint of mould in the background, between over-ripening and a damp cellar that has been closed for so long. But there is so much more that emerges from the glass, almost overwhelming in the quantity of olfactory stimuli: leather, aged balsamic vinegar, brine, flowers (narcissus, gardenia, tuberose, a hint of violet), sweet liquorice, muscovado, cola, tobacco… and a faint hint of smoke, barely present, the peat here being more earthy than iodine. Spectacular.
On the palate, the fruit shifts distinctly to the red palette, with the prevalence of sour cherries and blackberries that are almost marmalade-like, and the coastal part growing in tone in (literal) waves of salt water with the (slight) inflection of grilled seafood (mussels, scallops). The peaty part is clearly present, especially at length, of burnt wood and sulphur. A balsamic and spicy part makes its way through the flavours, gracefully and well integrated, while red orange and pink grapefruit emerge over time. Flowers, with violet prevailing. Here too, it becomes difficult to give a name to everything that flows into the mouth, so many evocations overlapping, yet managing to maintain impeccable coherence and elegance.
The finish is long and coastal, of red fruits, burnt wood, nutmeg and citrus fruits.
There is little to add to what I wrote above, an experiential, full, complex yet simple dram, because one of the extraordinary things about this whisky is its great drinkability. The cost is prohibitive, but just tasting it will remain with you for life.