All Things Whisky

Bowmore Laimrig 15 y.o.

54.4% abv

Score:  89.5/100

In late 2012, a few mates and I spent about a week or so on the Hebridean Isle of Islay, non-soberly carousing our way through the distilleries, whisky bars and restaurants.  And…uh…pretty much anywhere else we could drink (legally or otherwise).

Late one eve, just before last call in Bowmore’s legendary whisky bar, Duffies, the manager, David, bought me a dram of something special.  Very special.  So special, in fact, that it ended up being my favorite dram of the trip.  And trust me…there were a lot of good drams on that journey.

The malt David picked for me was a Bowmore Feis Ile 2011 limited release of the Laimrig 15 y.o.  Now…just to clarify…this was not the regular release of Laimrig, but one specific to the annual whisky and music festival on Islay, Feis Ile.  Sadly…for all my begging, pleading, cajoling and threatening (well…not really the latter), I was unable to procure a bottle of this.  It apparently sold out within hours of release, so my chances of scoring one weren’t good, but you can’t blame me for trying.  I’ll now shamelessly use this forum to ask again…if anyone has a bottle they’ll part with, please drop me a line.

The release we’re reviewing here is not that particular one, but is still a helluva dram.  Big and rich fruits meet machinery-esque flinty and industrial notes meet the smoke and brine we’d expect from Bowmore.  This is a return to old school Bowmore.  We’re veering away from the florals of recent years and moving back into the fruit-rich sherries that made for magical releases from this distillery through the 60s and 70s.  Yum.

There’s a lot going on with this whisky…and that’s a good thing.  I love it when I can sink into a dram for an hour or so and just…escape.  I think I could pick flavor threads out of this for hours.

Nose:  Chocolate covered cherries.  Nice jammy fruits.  Tobacco, leather and shoe polish.  Lightly smoked pork.  Flinty and oily.  Some coal and peat smoke.  Smells like evening walks on chilly nights on Islay…smoke lingering in the oceanic air.  Some rubber.  Raisin and eucalyptus.

Palate:  Plum and grape juice.  Again…rubber.  Smoke.  Slightly tarry.  Salty.  A little bit of pomegranate.  Cough drops/throat lozenges.  Slightly pithy.  Very, very drinkable.

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Curt

Bowmore 12 y.o.

40% abv

Overall:  84.5/100

This is one of the entry level Bowmore releases.  While there are one or two slightly less expensive variants (Legend, Surf, etc) the quality in the bottle is reflective of the lower digits following the dollar sign (or pound…or euro).  If it’s your first time tackling this distillery’s output…start here, not at one of the lesser siblings.

Those fearing the primal brawny lash and bold palate associated with big peaty Islay malts may rest assured that Bowmore 12 is a much more approachable dram.  There is an odd amalgamation of Islay and not Islay in the bottle here.  Sure, there is a bit of a medicinal edge and some peatiness, and some tarry meaty notes but these are much restrained here and held in check in favor of an emphasis on sweet smoke, salt and citrus.

Details…

Nose:  The smoke here is tame and savoury-sweet. If you’ve ever cooked with Liquid Smoke you’ll have an idea as to the nose of this whisky.  Temper that with a citric (zest and pithiness) peat tang, briny Islay seabreeze and a slight iodine dressing. Some shaved chocolate.  Smoked oyster with lemon juice.  This is about as close as I can get to what you’ll pick up on the nose.

Palate:  This isn’t a big whisky (maybe it would be at a higher abv).  In fact the arrival is so silky smooth that it is almost disappointing.  Credit where credit is due though…it is distinct from the other Islay malts and it is quite tasty. Smoke…lemon…chocolate…some earthy, vegetal salty notes from the peat.  A few odd sharper notes throw the balance off just towards the end though.

All in all…quite a decent whisky. I like it. Great for a mildly stormy night. Save the Supernova for the first real snowstorm of the year.

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Curt

Bowmore 15 y.o. Darkest

43% abv

Score:  84/100

Years back, Bowmore was one of the old vanguard producing malts that carried a gorgeous fruit profile, often tropical and exotic, moreso than the slightly one-dimensional releases of late.  Trust me…I’ve tried them.  These malts, primarily from the 60s, 70s and 80s are really something to behold if you can get your paws on ‘em.

Many an eve has been spent on quiet ponderence (errr…sometimes rather boisterous) with members of The Collective as to just what happened to change things, and what it would take to get back on track.  A few distilleries, we’ve noted, actually seem to be moving in the right direction of late.  Won’t mention them here, but the next decade or so should be rather interesting.

Anyway…

I’m not the biggest fan of the new stable of Bowmore. Let’s get that out front first thing. I have tried several of them and to date, still reach for the 12 year old more often the others. Even that is only slightly better than middle of the road malt to me. Bowmore is held in such esteem that I immediately expect more from them. Perhaps this is unfair. Perhaps not. With well over 200 years of history and more awards than any other Scotch single malt, expectations are bound to be high.

But having said that…refer back to first paragraph.  Bowmore has produced some of the greatest whiskies I have ever tasted.  Where I used to be rather lukewarm to the distillery, I have more than come round.

Let’s move on to the Darkest itself…

There seems to be more smoke here than the 12 y.o., but a tad less peat. The peaty edge logically fading a bit with a few extra years in wood. I would sort of expect the smoke to peter out a bit too, but…doesn’t seem to have. The nose is smoky chocolate, treacle, sherry and bacon. Fairly fruity (but dark dried fruits) and a little grassy. There is something dark and menacing in the back fire and brimstone?  Not entirely pleasant. Funnily enough…one of the eves I tried this, I did so with a group of others. One of them (Scott) said it “has a darker side to it”. True…very true.

The palate is slightly bitter but fairly mellow overall. The smoke and chocolate are primary here with the sweetness tagging along like a perky little brother. Tangy peat and fruit skin are there too. It is the smoke that lingers though, with a tart finale that trumpets its last fading call long after your final sip.

This is another malt that absolutely benefits from some oxidation.  I can almost guarantee you’ll enjoy this bottle more after it has been open and sat for a couple of months (if you’re the sort who doesn’t drain them in days, that is).

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Curt

1964       42 y.o.

40.5% abv

827 bottles

Score:  97/100

Oh boy.  One of the worst whisky reviews I have ever encountered read like an orgasm.  There was simply nothing to it but some oohs and ahhhs and a half dozen scattered words referring to peat.  I can understand being rendered speechless by nearing perfection, but c’mon.  The sentiment…certainly.  In a published review?  Bah!  The Black Bowmore was one of the few times where I have had to sit back and simply be wow’d.

This is as near to a flawless whisky as I have ever encountered.  Not only so, but it is also the most spectacularly unique one as well.  This edition (yes…there were three others) was a marriage of 5 casks, matured in Oloroso sherry wood, matured for 42 years and bottled just before the breaking point.  (Anything less than 40% is no longer eligible to be bottled as Scotch whisky).

What sits in my glass would not be possible without a little magic.

There is a place in Bowmore referred to as Vault Number 1.  It sits below sea level, where the wash of the loch and the moods of the ocean play out against its hallowed walls.  It is a Mecca where whisky lovers dream of venturing, though only a favored few ever truly experience the reality of what exists down here.  This warehouse is indeed a place of magic.  A place where something inexplicable happens to the silent casks slumbering within.  These barrels take on flavor nuances not found elsewhere.

Enough waxing poetic.  This is whisky, after all.

Black Bowmore is probably the greatest whisky nose I have ever encountered.  It is deeper than deep and richer than rich.  With enough time and dedication I can’t imagine a fruit you couldn’t sniff out of this one.  As expected, there is a wellspring of sherried fruitcake notes (think figs and spice, burnt toffee and cocoa bean), but it is not in these notes that the whisky is defined; it is in the absolutely overwhelming array of exotic and tropical  fruits on display.  Peach and orange and grapefruit.  Pineapple and a hint of coconut.  Black cherry in syrup.  Hints of mildest anise and gingerbread…salt and smoke…oily leather.  Veins of oak throughout and a dark and earthy mystique.  Stunning.  Incomparable.

The palate is creamy and comfortable.  Layer upon layer of tropical fruits sit right up front.  First thoughts are of Five Alive.  Maybe grapefruit…mango…apricot.  As it develops, spiced apple and cigar tobacco (or walk-in humidor).  And as it fades…a very pleasant bitter fruitiness.  The finish is shimmeringly beautiful all the way through.  Can’t help but wish it would never end.  Kind of like watching Cinderella run away as the clock strikes midnight…and knowing that you are already in love with her.

To put it succinctly, this is quite simply the greatest whisky I have ever tasted.  And quite rightly…has earned the highest mark I have ever awarded.

- Reviewed by:  Curt

- Photo:  Pat at www.standstillphotography.ca