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.
For me, the Bowmore 12 doesn't seem to be able to make up its mind what it wants to be. It doesn't know if it wants to be a peaty Islay or a Speyside. If it were more lightly peated, the sweet, honeyed citrus notes wouldn't be overshadowed, and if it were more highly peated, the background sweetness would be a nicer contrast. Nest time I want some of this I'll mix a little Glenlivet 12 with some Laph 10.
Big disappointment. Not really smokey or peaty. Nose very sweet reminding low quality spirits - honey?maybe. somebody said paraffin? Palate is were the peat and smoke comes in but it is overwhelmed by the excessive sweetnesess. Very lite and fast vanishing finish. I completely disliked this whiskey especially the nose. I actually tried to sip it with my nose closed. As I wright this I switched to laphroig 10 and my god, these two dwell in different universes I honestly do not understand how someone can mention them in the same sentence.
This dram was one of the best about 3-4 years ago ... what happened? It used to have a super long iodine finish ... now it is just average ... something has changed. Bowmore better get this sorted ... loyal customers are noticing.
Just doesn't compare to a typical Islay. Less of everything. Sadly. Likely makes a good introduction to Islay, but why not just jump into the pool?
This one is a bit hard for me to pin down. It's got a bonfire nose and initial taste, but that quickly fades into a smoother, only somewhat smokey but overall pleasant finish. The less time between sips the quicker this occurs. It's a fun one, but I don't know that I'll be buying another bottle any time soon.
