Islay’s oldest working distillery, Bowmore was established in 1779 and is now regarded as one of the most popular malts not only on Islay, but in the whole of Scotland. The distillery was acquired by Stanley P. Morrison in 1963, ushering in an era of iconic single malts, including the legendary Black Bowmore, credited by many as the genesis of whisky collecting, bottled in 1995. The distillery was bought under the control Suntory the year prior (they had been stakeholders since 1989), and it remains one of the most collectible brands in Scotch whisky today. Bowmore is one of the few remaining Scottish distilleries to use its own floor maltings, providing them with 40% of their requirements.

The unique microclimate of the No.1 Vaults warehouse at Bowmore distillery means casks share very little with the angels, and has allowed the distillery to regularly bottle some great age-statements over the years. This is a 34 year old, distilled in 1971 and matured in sherry wood casks.

Colour: deep amber. Nose: oh, a Christmas malt indeed, for it starts on some bold notes of gingerbread, mulled wine and fruitcake. Wine-poached pears, the Chinese plum sauce they serve with Peking duck, rosewater, coconut milk, ‘arranged’ rum, prunes in Armagnac, Havana tobacco… Err, I know that sounds like maltoporn, sorry… And beyond the sherry, you have the classical peat smoke, seaweed, brine… Whiffs of ginger ale, horse dung, bold notes of wet hay… Very interesting, it’s very different from both the older ‘ tropical fruitbombs’ and the younger ‘simpler or lavender-perfumed’ Bowmores. I must say I like a lot, it’s sort of ‘wild’ and very organic. And ah, there’s also quite some soy sauce. Mouth: oh-oh! Very liquoricy, resinous and meaty, with quite a maelstrom of very special flavours, mostly fermented fruits, wax, old rancio (oloroso indeed), herbs… There’s no point in listing them all, and this superb Bowmore has only one flaw in my opinion: the finish is a little too cardboardy and drying. But other than that, it’s a beauty, even if the usual fresh tropical fruits notes are missing.

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