Time to try some Bowmore, one of the single malts that I have tried the most expressions of. And to say the least, it's had its ups and downs, never know what to expect from Bowmore. Many older Bowmores from 70's and 80's are cherished items amongst collectors or enthusiasts with whole lotta dough on their hands. I'm not one of them, so I will in this session try 4 whiskies none older than 11yo.
Operation Overlord 2004 D-Day 60th anniversary NAS 43% OB/IB??? btl.2/100
Come to think of it, this is perhaps not even a Bowmore, as there is no label stating that, or any online information to confirm. The only source to back up this conclusion is that the seller said so! I guess I'll just have to believe him until now at least. Time to try and see for myself, can I distinguish if this is a Bowmore or not? Light color, somewhere in the middle of apple juice and white wine. Smells spirity, marshmallows, soft apple and grenadine, a little smokiness and some almond oil. Lots of almond oil actually. The taste is light and spirity, I can't say wether this is a Bowmore or not as there are small smoky hints all the way. If I were to guess I'd thought it'd be a less than good young Ledaig or even a more recent young Bruichladdich. Most of all it is spirity, bad bad spirit.
Can be Bowmore, but far from a good one: 2
Bowmore 10yo 1984-1994 43% OB Commemorating Seve Ballesteros St. Andrews OC winner 1984
A golfers whisky? Seve Ballesteros won the Open Championships back in 1984, with an incredible, I guess, 276 score! I have never known the sport(!) of Golf, so no idea, but I know the sport of whisky, and now I'm going to perform some;) A bit darker than the O.O.-version, albeit more golden, apple juice. Smells light, mild, cream cheese, salt, bonfire, fresh air, day after rain, oranges. This one is far less smoky than the O.O. on the nose, but yet more fun and refreshing. The taste is light, soapy and peppery, one of the lightest Islayers I've ever had. It's not bad in any way, it just doesn't manage to make an impact of anything other than being a sweet, light whisky. Maybe, even though I doubt it in this case, I wonder if this could use some water?Dilution is not the answer here, more off-notes, chalk, industrial glue and spirity notes.
Better on the nose, same on the palate, worse on the finish than the O.O.: 2
Bowmore 10yo 2000-2010 45% James MacArthur's cask#20090
This one is of somewhat younger age than the previous two, and I have a huge appreciation for James MacArthur's as they bottle many great young whiskies at cask strength that's hard to come by anywhere else unless huge money is put on the table. Seems some distilleries are only worth bottling at crazy old age, to the IB's. Money talks, and have always done that. Anyway, back to the notes. Color of white wine, smells more smoky than the other two, and a bit burnt, not sophisticated like older sherried islayers, but it has that smoky, salty style that most "good" islayers do. Real stuff!!! Amazing peatiness, perfect, but it don't get much competition in this one. It tastes like bitter beer, hints of light, summer style salty air, sea style, dried algae, coastal flavors, fish eggs, but all that aside, it's mostly peppery. Hardcore light Islay style, doesn't make sense, but I could drink as much as I'd like of this and never be disappointed.
Light, peppery, coastal, young and new Islay in a glass: 4
Bowmore 11yo 1979-1990 58.4% Cadenhead's
I know there are rumors around saying that something terrible happened to Bowmore during the 80's, the quality of their new-make went down. I have no idea, I have never tried a Bowmore distilled in the 70's. Up until now that is. As I mentioned in last taste note, J.McA. is a company bottling unusual whiskies, and so is Cadenhead's lots of whiskies that you'll probably never be likely to find alikes of was bottled by Cadenhead's in the 60's 70's and 80's. Again this light white wine color, smells phenolic, burnt, ashes, sawdust, honey and vanilla, even coconut oil. Amazing in all it's startled glory. It's one of movies that never would've won the Oscars due to low investments in productions, yet the story is so great it covers the whole range of emotions in the jury. Give it time an it opens up on burnt oak, nuts, almond, extreme peat, smokiness, raw fish, sea salt, honey, bonfire, crushed maize and sweet floral notes and gazebo papers(old books). The taste is so peaty and powerful!!! This seems even more peaty than many Laphroaigs, Octomores, Ardbegs and so on. It's just so concentrated! I'm almost getting angry now!!! Why don't they bottle Bowmore like this anymore? I'll let in some water just to cool myself down. Now it becomes just the perfect dry apple core on caramel and cinnamon finish.
Well, smooth and perfect is wasn't, but it was something else as Sid'd tell you: 7.5
Next tasting: Spirits!!! (A special non-whisky whisky treat)
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