Bowmore Coopers Choice

I promised some time back a more in depth tasting of the 15 y.o. from Coopers Choice. This is a Bowmore, distlled in 1990 and bottled in 2006. I bought it at Milroy's of Soho in London back in July and I find now that I am almost at the bottom of the bottle. Time to finish it off and move on to new things!

First, the Coopers choice is much lighter in color than other Bowmores, certainly a good deal lighter than even the 12 yo from the distillery. I would say it is a light hay color. I'm not sure what to put this down to, given that it has spent 15 years in oak casks. It is not chill filtrated, for those keeping track, but I have not noticed any haziness in the drink at all because of it. It has a pleasant, iodine smell, some peatiness, but not overly strong. I can't detect much fruit at all in the drink, and it hits the tongue much more strongly than you would expect, even for a 46% ABV scotch. There is a distinct oiliness to it, very pleasant burn and a long finish. As I recall, this cost me about 40 pounds, or nearly $80 for a 70cl bottle. At times it seems well worth the money, others I'm not so sure, but I find it one of the more satisfying of the Bowmores. If offered a chance, take a taste!