Line Up #1 : Bowmore, an exploration

22 May 2021. 

 

 

 

 

 

A bit of history.  (those who are familiar with it can skip this part)

It's easy to gain information about the Bowmore distillery, which was founded in 1779 on the west coast of Islay, making it the oldest distillery on this mythical island. The current owners are the Japanese company Suntory, which owns also Laphroaig, Ardmore, Glen Garioch and Auchentoshan since 1994. It has two Wash Stills and two Spirit Stills, with a production capacity of 1.7 million litres of pure alcohol per year.

The distinctive feature of the distillate is that it is peaty at around 25 ppm, what is known as medium peat, much less peaty than Laphroaig or Ardbeg, but more so than Talisker or Highland Park. The distillery malts 30% of its own barley, and most of the barley is grown on Islay, which shows a great effort to support local agriculture. On the other hand, the distillery uses colouring agents and cold filtration, which helps to hide the less consensual but more typical flavours of the distillate.

Many of the great names in whisky have worked for Bowmore, including Jim McEwan, before his legendary move to Bruichladdich, and Rachel Barrie, now at Benriach. The distillery's current Master Blender is Ron Welsh. But the institution of the distillery is Eddie McAffer, who worked there for over fifty years, in all posts, before retiring in 2016 as Manager Distiller.

The area has a number of legends, the most famous of which is the French Whore Perfume, which plagued most bottlings in the 1980s, and the famous N°1 Vaults, the oldest whisky maturation cellar in Scotland, located below sea level, which is said to help the distillate acquire its famous salty taste.

It was in the 1960s that the brand was at its peak, producing some of the finest single malts ever tasted. Then, in the 1990s, it produced the 'hit' of the decade with Bowmore Black, which was initially sold for around £100 and is now worth tens of thousands of euros. Nowadays, Bowmore is still renowned, but much less so than other Islay houses. Its juice is considered not peaty enough for peat lovers, and too peaty for those who don't like it. There is criticism of the use of colouring and of some poor bottlings saturated with sherry.

The Line Up Project. 

By focusing on the distillery's most famous products, among those that can still be found, I seek to understand the distillery's hallmarks and its distinctive characteristics. Each distillery has its own identity and we're going to map out Bowmore's. The bottlings chosen are those that I felt were the most typical, but also the most enjoyable in terms of my tastes.

I've eliminated the Bowmore Legend, which juice seems too young to me, and the Bowmore 12 yo, too dominated by lemon in my opinion. On the other hand, I missed other bottlings, such as the Bowmore 15 yo Darkest and the Bowmore Tempest 10 yo, quality references, but which have been out of production for a long time, which I no longer have in stock and which are very difficult to find. I'd have liked to have the Bowmore 25 yo or even the Black, but it was the financial aspect that was the problem!

 

The Tasting.  

Bowmore 9 yo Sherry Cask Matured : I'm starting with this little thing released as a limited edition in 2016. Now hard to find, it's still hanging around in some supermarkets and airports. Online, it can be found on some German sites at double its release price, which is far too expensive for what it is.

The sherry is deep, sweet and vinous, with blackcurrant and raspberry notes. Very light on the palate, at just 40°, it nevertheless reveals a few spices that add body. The finish is short but pleasant, very fruity, blackberry and blueberry, a bit earthy. Score : 84

Bowmore 15 yo : This is the absolute reference for the Core Range. You can find it everywhere, even in supermarkets, at a price that I find a little exaggerated, over 50 euros.

The sherry is a little too strong, almost sickening. It takes more than twenty minutes of aeration before it finally balances out, with a touch of smoke, charcoal and sweeter fruits. On the palate, it's a bit light, but the spices continue to season the tongue. The finish is a little more full-bodied, with raspberry and walnuts. Score : 85

Bowmore 15 yo Golden & Elegant : It is normally available in the travel trade, but is fairly easy to find online, again at a slightly inflated price. Unlike the previous two, it is aged in bourbon casks.

The nose is nicely smoky, but less nuanced, with yellow plums and vanilla. The palate is still fairly light, enhanced by spices. The finish, on the other hand, seems more vigorous, still short, but powerful and pleasant, with a hint of tide and charcoal. Score : 85

Bowmore 18 yo : A benchmark of choice, it has the advantage of being less expensive than other bottlings on the island of that age. It's very easy to find, either online or in a good wine shop.

I found the nose to be finally excellent, nuanced, complex, woody, with a sherry that is bewitching without being overpowering. A welcome touch of iodine, combined with delicate peat. The palate is velvety, with red grape and heather earth flavours, followed by rising spices. The finish is fairly long and drying, with hints of dried fruits, apricot jam and rhubarb. Score: 88

Bowmore 18 yo Deep & Complex : Normally reserved for the travel trade, this sherry cask-aged bottling is fairly easy to find online or in some wine shops.

The nose is superbly balanced, with a hint of wine and smoke, muscat grapes, damsons and blueberries. The palate, too, is vinous, fruity, earthy, and the finish is long enough, on charcoal, just powerful enough. Score: 89

Bowmore 10 yo Inspired by The Devil's Casks Series : This limited edition, released in 2016, is inspired by the Devil's Casks Series, which attracted a lot of attention. Here we're dealing with an ageing in sherry and French wine casks. You can still find it on some German websites.

I find it younger than the previous two, so more smoky, but less fruity, with a similar profile nonetheless. You can really feel the well-balanced blend of sherry, French wine and fairly strong iodine. The palate is more intense at 46°, with muscat, blackberries and then strong spices. The finish is long and vigorous, with raspberry. Score : 88

Bowmore 19 yo French Oak Barrique : Another limited edition, this time entirely aged in wine casks, and dating from 2018. It has recently sold out, and can still be found online at a high price, but the quality is there.

I find it rich and sweet, fig, cherry, pomegranate, the influence of wine is finally assumed. The palate is heavy on spice, fruity, woody, strawberry, blackberry, with a very long finish of black cherry and heather earth. Score: 90

Bowmore Vault Edit. 2nd Release 'Peat Smoke' : A new limited edition from 2019, from the famous N°1 Vaults, which is supposed to emphasise peat. This bottling has always been hard to find in France, for some unknown reason. I found it on a foreign site.

I found here a nice thick peat, stronger than usual for this distillery, followed by a rather diplomatic sherry. Behind, a maritime intensity, with salt, iodine and tide. The palate is very good, with quince jam, but also very spicy. Quite a long, slightly fruity finish. Score: 88

Bowmore Vault Edit. 1st Release 'Atlantic Sea Salt' : This last limited edition, launched in 2016, has also been aged in N°1 Vaults, it's supposed to showcase Bowmore's salty character. It's easily found today (clearly a mixed success), at a price that I find highly overpriced (over €100). Personally, I took advantage of a half-price promotion to buy it, otherwise I might not have bought it.

It has a fairly intense saltiness, with vanilla and iodine and some white fruits. The palate is powerful but a bit simple, rather spicy, and the finish is vigorous and fairly long, with a hint of cola. Score: 87

Bowmore 2001 Artist #7 Batch 2 Over 15 yo : Almost all the independent bottlings of Bowmore that I have found have been aged in one or more bourbon casks. This one, released by Signatory Vintage for La Maison du Whisky, was the one I found to be the best. But I'm far from having tried everything, of course.

The nose is perfectly balanced, with smoke, vanilla, iodine and peat. It's both pastry and maritime, with some seafood and tide, limestone earth, but also chocolate éclair and whipped cream. With water, it becomes fruitier, with acid apples and pears. The palate is just as marvellous, with honey and iced lemon, followed by spices, which are rather strong. Finally, an endless, powerful finish on cola and coffee. This whisky tastes like the stars. Score : 90

Bowmore 1991 Càrn Mòr Celebration of the Cask Black Gold 25 yo :And finally, a sample of the best I've found at Bowmore, and the best whisky I've drunk to date. Unobtainable, of course, and prohibitively expensive.

The smoke is perfect, wrapped in sherry. Crushed morello cherries, wine lees, gooseberries, damp undergrowth, blackberry liqueur. The palate is totally silky, very fruity, with spices that carpet the mouth, the finish gives an idea of eternity, acting in several waves, leaving a taste of chocolate with fruits and wood. In short, it's so good, it's hard to describe! Score: 93

 

What I gain from it. 

• This distillery is underrated! While it's true that some bottlings aren't very interesting or don't offer great value for money, others are absolutely outstanding!
  
• At Bowmore, the Core Range starts to be interesting from the age of 18, the younger bottlings are disappointing and too expensive for what they are. Yet these are the bottlings that the public buys first. This is undoubtedly why the distillery is not valued at its true worth. You really have to go for the more expensive and the rarer to finally find something worthwhile.
  
• The hallmarks are clear, light peat, smoky but not always, with a hint of iodine and seaweed, sometimes damp undergrowth, and limestone rock. On the palate, it's quite spicy, sometimes too much so, the best bottlings being those that master the build-up of spice. In the end, it's quite similar to some of the other Islay distilleries, but less powerful, and more on the limestone and forest notes.
  
• These characteristics are often masked, at least in part, by a spirit, which is very much influenced by the casks, saturated with sherry or bourbon. Although I prefer sherry, I have to admit that the very best bourbon casks bring out the best in the distillate.
  
• Wine casks are also widely used and add a pleasing complexity to the whole, emphasising the wood and red fruit, without the sometimes harsh acidity or sweetness of sherry. Suntory owns several Bordeaux grands crus, so it's not difficult for them to find good wine casks.
  
• Most of the best limited editions date from around 2016, so they are the work of Rachel Barrie. Thanks to her for creating Tempest, Devil's Casks and 18yo Deep & Complex. By incorporating wine cask ageing into the distillery's products, she has given them greater complexity and depth. On the other hand, it has to be said that since her departure in 2017, the distillery has been stagnating. The new 15 year old is a disappointment, the new limited editions are very good but only exploit Rachel Barrie's ideas a little more. There's no new impetus, no dynamic. We're not waiting for the new Bowmore releases like we're waiting for the new Ardbeg or Springbank releases. Recently, there's been a lot of talk about new bottlings from Laphroaig or Ledaig, but nothing like that from Bowmore. What's more, they lack a really good product that's accessible to all budgets, like Bunnahabhain 12yo, Caol Ila 12yo, Springbank 10yo, Talisker 10yo or Benromach 10yo, something that would establish their reputation and to which we could refer as a guarantee of their quality.
  

In conclusion, the Bowmore distillery still produces fine quality whisky, but it is in crisis. It lacks a benchmark bottling, a certain credibility, and a creative impetus that would enable it to be part of the whisky news.
It's not for me to tell them what to do, I don't have the skills (although what do you say about a 16-year-old aged in bourbon casks refilled to 46°, without chill filtration, and finished for a few months in wine casks?), but for the moment, we have to rely on the two 18-year-olds, still at a reasonable price, two or three limited editions and hand-picked independent bottlings, to enjoy this beautiful distillery with its old-fashioned charm.