Tasting Three Bowmores

I have been saving this one for a while, and since I will shortly be visiting this famed distillery (the oldest on Islay), I thought I should put my notes up on three darned good whiskies produced on the shores of Loch Indaal. Two of these are independant bottlings -- one from the great Berry Bros and Rudd (which I purchased last year while in London along with their Blue Hanger) and the other from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The third is an official bottling in the limited edition series.

The first up is the Berry Bros bottling of a 1989 vintage Bowmore at 19 years old. This was one of four bottlings from Bowmore they had last year (a 9 year old, I think, a 14, this one and a 21 year old) and the one that impressed me the most. It's bottled at 53.5% and has a very light color like pinot grigio. The nose is medicinal with light smoke and varnished wood. Without water the whiskey is wonderfully smokey and pungent. With water it becomes a beautiful, sweet-smelling whiskey with floral notes, brown sugar, vanila, orange peel and candied peel. It is rounder and smoother on the tongue with a smokey, long finish. Of the three Bowmores here, this one was the sweetest, but not in a sickly way.

Next up is the Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling of a 21 year old distilled in December 1987 and aged in a refill bourbon hogshead (I believe all three here are bourbon aged). This one is slightly lower in alcohol (50.8%) and has a similar pinot grigio color. The nose is a little deeper than the BBR bottle, with plastic, light smoke and a rounder, meatier mouthfeel. With water the smoke becomes more prominent and I get more ocean smells. The taste reminds me a bit of fish sauce (not in a bad way) and it is still quite meaty with fine kippers and beach smells.

Finally there is the official Bowmore 16 year old, distilled in 1989 and bottled in 2005 at 51.8% alcohol. The color is the lightest of the bunch and comes from predominantly bourbon casks, but is not a single-cask like the other two. Is that marmite on the nose? Wait a moment, give it some time. It has a lighter mouthfeel than the others, but is still quite meaty and explosive on the tongue when taken full strength. With water... oh what sweet nectar this is! I get apricots, pears, all sorts of nice fruit and light smoke on the nose. The taste is round, with a bit of plastic and quite chewey. A very satisfying dram.

All in all, these three demonstrate how great Bowmore can be. I can't pick a favorite (and I have subsequent to making these notes finished the BBR -- which I first opened at Christmas -- and the SMSW bottlings).