Bowmore 1985 Feis Ile 2012

Bowmore 21 Year Old

This one is the standard 21 Year Old, but an older bottle that a bunch of us purchased as a group and shared. We believe it was distilled in 1974. The colour is a dark amber. On the nose we have rich aromas of leather, shoe polish, wet bonfire, savoury herbs and a hint of tar. Peat smoke, of course, but it is behind the oak and the malt. Dark...

Score 95/100

Bowmore 17 Year Old

Smoke and peat and sea salt. Warm and encompassing - and that's just the initial hit of the nose. Behind that, there are hints of sweetness - particularly chocolate - and a dash of fruitiness. A genuinely deep and complex nose that takes several goes over several minutes to start to get a grip on all the contrasting flavours. The taste is...

Score 90/100

Bowmore 10 Year Old Tempest

So far, every release of Tempest was good (ok, I have not tasted all of them). The first release has even become something of a collector’s item (yep, I have it in my collection too). Batch 6 will be released soon, but I am trying batch 3 today, bottled in 2011. This sample had been sitting on my desk for way too long. The nose is fairly sweet and...

Score 85/100

Bowmore 12 Year Old

Warm fast smoky peaty malty arrival develops a fast disappointing uneventful finish. For being the first distillery on Islay this was the lowest quality of whisky I personally have had from that region.

Score 81/100