Bowmore 1969 for the 20th Anniversary of Edoardo Giaccone's Whiskyteca at Salò c. 6635

 

 

 

58°

Distillery : Bowmore  Islay

Sherry Cask 

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 1978

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, "Full Proof"

Peated around 25 ppm

 

 

 

In April 1978, the Italian importer Fecchio & Frassa had a series of 6 Bowmore casks bottled, the content of which was distilled in 1969. All will be Single Casks, all will be aged in Sherry casks, all will title 58° of alcohol. For this reason, I wonder if we can consider that these bottlings are really cask strength. In my opinion, this is not the case. Finally, each bottling will be limited to 300 copies. They must have been small casks of 250 to 300 liters, with a good angels'share. Today, these 6 bottlings are part of the Bowmore legend. It's a collector's dream and a whisky lover's Holy Grail. Among them, 2 are dedicated to the celebratiion of the 20th anniversary of the Whiskyteca, Edoardo Giaccone's historic bar. This bar has had several names, Garten, Edward & Edward, or even La Taverna del Comandante. In this place, Edoardo Giaccone served his own Scotch Whisky bottlings. He is undoubtedly the first Italian bottler, the pioneer of a long line, from Silvano Samaroli to Hidden Spirits. The keg we have here is one of those two. A piece of history, come straight to us through the ages.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Great richness on the nose, earth and humus, celery and fennel, leek soup, pan-fried mushrooms, coniferous forest, tree bark, dandelions, minerality behind, lovely iodine, with some tropical fruit, papaya, grapefruit. Stringy smoke. Perhaps a hint of mango. The palate is also very vegetable-like, with zucchini flower, eggplants, pumpkin, but it's also silky, very smooth, soft, with the spices gradually coming through, clove, cumin, cinnamon and cardamom. Beyond that, it's warm, a bit metallic, velvety, grapey. A very fine, very long finish, mingling charcoal and earth, a hint of citrus fruits, a little returning mango, iodine and salt. Tide and sea spray.

 

In Short, 

Unfortunately, I could not enjoy this nectar as I would have liked. I only had the very end of the glass and little time to taste it, because other people were waiting for my comment. Nevertheless, I am eternally grateful to the person who made me taste it. To be honest, I didn't love it, but I was blown away by the total originality of the product. I wouldn't have recognized this Bowmore, yet I'm a fan of the distillery. I smelt a hint of the famous exotic fruits, but also it's very vegetal, which is surprising. We were three to taste it, and we came to the same conclusion, it really is a whisky apart. The nose is wide, full of various flavours, and the finish is incredible, very long, both fruity and salty.

Score : 92 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           The Kinks - (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman