Bowmore 15-Year Golden & Elegant
43% ABV - Islay, Scotland
Nose: A dusty and musty peat, fresh fruit, citrus, tropical fruits, wood spices, and candied ginger. It’s actually a little off-putting unless you give this time or add a dash of water.
Taste: Tropical notes from the first fill ex-Bourbon dominate, with orange-lime citrus (thinking of calamansi here), creamy coconut, and a smoked honey. After water, a maple candy-type flavour comes out.
Finish: Fading back to minerality, ashy soot, spice, citrus, and wood.
Helllloo, first fill ex-Bourbon! This is a fantastic expression of Bowmore – but give it some time in the glass. If a Bowmore expression isn’t fully ex-Sherry matured, then it better have spent some time in first fill - ha! The 10-Year Tempest series is among my all time favourites as it is fully matured in those first fill barrels. However, we are left with a little bit of guesswork as those details aren’t fully disclosed with this Travel Retail Exclusive (TRE). The profile is loosely similar the 12-Year, which I imagine has a spent a number of years in second and refill casks.
Back to the whisky in hand… it is not about the nose. If I were to take a page from the creative labelling of Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottles, or the brilliant work of David Broom, then I’d call this “fire singed, whisky soaked carpet in your grandparent’s basement.” It’s musty, smoky, and stale. Does the nose get better? With water, sure, but I suppose I could have let it sit longer. What this whisky is all about is the taste and finish, which, in my opinion, makes all forgiven for any unpleasantries up front. It’s those tropical fruits, the citrus, and coconut flavours - all with a dash of smoke - that excite me. I think that across the 2017 TREs, the name for this Bowmore expression is most appropriate: for a brand that typically adds caramel colouring, they either abstained for this one or went really, really light - just enough to keep it Golden. And you can call it Elegant, a stretch perhaps, based on all those light, tropical notes.
At 43% ABV I can’t criticize the strength, and at a 1L bottling - picked up for $100 CAD at a land crossing - it’s good value and I would love to have another for backup.
Note: This whisky was tasted alongside the other 2017 Bowmore TREs: 10-Year Dark & Intense and 18-Year Deep & Complex.
Tasting Notes (Official): Breathe In: Sicilian golden desserts with honey, Amalfi lemon and sweet tobacco leaf. Sip: Silky citrus, salty-sweet vanilla and honeycomb. Savour: Peat smoke, sweet almond and lingering lemon.
Tasted 22 May 2019. (Posted 27 May 2019.)
