Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 56%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Sherry Oloroso seasoned
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Suntory
Average price: € 135.00
Official website: www.bowmore.com
After Kilchoman, today I am tasting Bowmore’s exclusive bottling for 2025 Fèis Ìle.
A single cask, #3766, ex-oloroso sherry, filled on 27 May 2016 with a distillate made from 100% malted barley in the distillery’s floors, which a few days before reaching 9 years of age, all spent in the legendary Vaults No. 1, was bottled at 56% in 483 bottles, sold at £120 and sold out in less than 6 hours.
Tasting Notes
The colour is a splendid bronze.
On the nose, the light peat typical of Bowmore, like a caress coming from the sea, is the solid base on which notes of caramel, resin, orange peel and milk chocolate alternate and blend, with a spiciness based on pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon. Balsamic hints of liquorice and eucalyptus enrich an iridescent aromatic range that reminds us how Bowmore sherry cask whiskies, when matured to perfection, can achieve a harmony that borders on the heavenly. An unmistakable hint of berry jam completes the sensory picture. A few hours after tasting, the empty glass gives off a scent of milk chocolate and black cherry.
On the palate, supported by a perfectly balanced alcohol content, I detect the same markers as on the nose, with the addition of an impression of polished wood. Blackberries and blueberries, not in jam but freshly picked. Here I also find that dark note, an amalgam of tobacco and old library, which takes me back to other older and equally seductive Bowmores. In the mouth, the whisky has a consistency that makes it almost chewable.
The finish is long and slightly peppery, balsamic and sweet at the same time, balanced between liquorice and caramel, with the usual reassuring smoky touch of Bowmore that envelops this whisky like a ribbon, making it a real gift.
Review: I’ll be honest, I expected a good offering, as befits an occasion such as the Fèis, but not a bottling of this calibre, which is far more mature than its age would suggest. A delightful and exhilarating sherry-cask Bowmore, which does full justice to the reputation of one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries. Lucky are those who managed to take home a bottle!
Vote: 89/100