The heart of the Bowmore range, the 12 year old exhibits some beautiful coastal notes with a gentle peat, it is the balance that the floral element presents that makes this a great entry bottling for Bowmore.
Coastal smoke and ash soon make way for bergamot, orange zest, lemon slices and some hay before becoming rather floral, heather smoke now competing with the ash.
Lovely and rounded, honeyed even, initially. Vanilla, perfumed smoke and coastal elements develop. Dark Peat. Blossom, oily sweetness.
Smoky and long. Sea spray, dry grass, a touch of ash and citrus.
Classic stuff and the heart of the Bowmore range. Smoky, fruity, coastal, delicious.
What I most like about this whisky is the quality of the spirit. Beneath the soft smoke you have the perfect coastal whisky (briney, citrusy, salty) with the addition of some sherry character. Nice and long ending, no bitterness. I would love to find a whisky like this but without smoke. I tried Old Pulteney and I like it but its different. I know Bowmore did get a good amount of flak in the past for uneven quality but I find this one superb for the price.
No water, just neat. I like bestbthatvthere is no 2nd flavor sm like this.
So I bought this at my local liquor store the other day because they had run out of port charlotte and actually turned out to be a good buy. not as smoky as id hoped but still satisfies my need for peat with some nice honey citrus and vanilla notes as well as has that sea salt I love. All in all not bad would probably buy this again once I have tried everything I can.
This is a Islay scotch that isn't quite an Islay scotch... It's not that peaty, it's rather sweet and it's surprisingly smooth at 40%, in fact, it's too smooth. So don't add water, it will kill your drink. Nose is a bit smokey, a pit peat,a bit citric too. Mouthfeel is very silky, it misses punch a bit, smoke, salt, lemon is there. I recon this is a good one to use at a (beginners) tasting event and put it after the Speysides but before the big Islay guns. Finish is rather short, but pretty ok for a young one. It's no match for the almost double priced 15 yo Bowmore, but at this price range this is a top ten finish.
You like smoke and peat? This one is really good. No medicinal note, small hint of fruit. Bold and smoky scotch. One of my favorite, right behind Lagavulin 12.
