Asking if it is worth the price is probably not the right question here. I tasted and own the old 1957 OB and its equivalent from Berry Bros. & Rudd, both excellent drams, but not extra special (over 90 points, below 94). The value in this bottling is elsewhere – it is magical in many ways, not rationally explainable. And for those twelve lucky guys who can afford it, it will be an amazing centerpiece of liquid and solid art in their collections – although this might break the wallets and hearts of some less wealthy Bowmore collectors. Maybe I will be able to taste this gem one day, who knows. I’d love to. And if not I won’t begrudge the bottle its owners and simply enjoy the beauty of it vicariously.

The fourty from the same vintage

Bowmist Finest West Highland Scotch Whisky, distilled, matured at Bowmore, Sherriffs Bowmore Distillery, 70 proof

Nose: Very fresh and floral, also somewhat spicy. An elegant light and creamy dram with a discrete maritime edge. I am getting cassis, apricots and a whiff of passion fruit, herbs and ferns, tobacco leafs, toffee, creme brulee and Bavarian creme.

Palate: In the mouth it starts out like an old blend (light, old bottle flavour) but then the noble old Bowmore character shines through. It might be less complex than its nose but still shows nice lead aromas of dark mahogani wood and apricots.

Finish: Not very long, more on elegance and smoothness, but that on a high level.

Score: 89

Bowmore  13 y.o. The Maltman, Cask sample for Pit, Sherry Cask (no further information)

Comment: New style Bowie, more intense and on primary notes than the others below at the first whiff, quite some acidity, more fruity than herbal in its basic style. Still recognizable Bowmore character though. In the background I find pine resin and atlantic freshness with sea spray (ozone). No obvious Sherry is detetable (which I don’t mind). It finishes really impressive. All in all it reminds me of the Tempest (Original Bottling). I’d say it is ready to be bottled but could mature two or three more years but not longer as it might lose intensity. Don’t dilute for filling – thanks for this personal sample!

Current Score (if that makes sense): 89+

Bowmore 21 y.o. The Maltman, Bourbon Cask, 46%

Comment: This dram is more in the old style of the late 1980ies/early 1990ies but fortunately lacks the perfumy part to a great extent, a real elegant sip, but altogether not dramatically different fom the 13 y.o. reviewed above. We have vanilla, ferns, mustard seed, leather, some fruits hinted at (like in an aquarelle picture), forest floor, discrete smoke and on the whole a greener and more vegetal style. In taste it suffered a bit from dilution as it is too thin on the palate, but that on a very high level … if you like smooth Islay drams this is the one to pick.

Score: 88

Bowmore 1994 – 2009 Berry Brothers & Rudd, Cask 1681, 56,3%

Comment: Again close to 13 y.o. from above in the basic profile, but way sootier and more peppery. This also displays wonderful saltiness and a mineral acidity. It is very Bowmore in style with all the complex elements this classic has, but it is also very powerful, a hidden power somehow, because it holds back at first. I like the notes of soot and iodine on one end, the vanilla and lilac on the other a lot. Both worlds of Bowmore in one dram. It really explodes in the mouth and departs from the understatement of the nose. This Bowmore is extra-special, a most elegant yet strong interpretation of the peat genre with great balance and a very long finish. It needs no water whatsoever. After one sip you wish for a bottle…and so did everyone in our tasting in the streetcar (Dram in a Tram).

Score: 91

Bowmore 15 y.o. Whisky-Fässle 1997 – 2012, Bourbon Hogshead, 53,7%

New Duck Editions

Comment: Duck fetishist Jens Unterweger brought us a new Bowmore in his duck-series. Quack! Aaah yes, it is one of those Bowies that retain distillery character but deliver a lot of power. Great freshness and balance to boot, altogether more on the spicy side. I like the white pepper and herbal plays in the background here … definitely one for a Bowmore sucker like me – if you like spiciness and herbs. Finally, there are soot and flints plus the classic Bowmore character in the finish. Water helps to balance the spiciness.

Score: 89

Bowmore 40 y.o. Duncan Taylor Peerless Collection 5.1966 – 5.2006, Cask 3317, 171 btl., 43,2%

Comment: Amazing, one of the best 1966 versions out there, full and grand! This one has much more than the crazy fruit-berry-mix. Recommendation!

Score: 94-

By the way: The sister cask 3317 (5.1966 – 8.2006, 43,5%) is almost as good: 93+

Bowmore 36 y.o. Hart Brothers 5.1966 – 10.2002, 40,0%

Comment: Discrete and noble in style, yet typical. A bit less on kitschy fruit and more on the wood. Many friends score it slightly higher.

Score: 93-

Bowmore 33 y.o. Duncan Taylor Peerless Collection 11.1969 – 2003, Cask 6085, 42,5%

Comment: Of course, slightly peatier than 1964-1968, but it somehow holds back more than others, slightly less expressive.

Score: 89

Bowmore 43 y.o. ‚White Bowmore‘ OB 1964 – 2008, Bourbon Cask, 732 btl., 42,8%

Comment: Classic 1964 profile from the start with its uber-cristalline tropical fruitiness and loads of berries, wine gum, ozone and all that jazz – really fresh and not woody throughout. Close to a perfect nose. In terms of taste it is mindboggling-good as well, but it lacks the intensity that the younger versions had – but that is splitting hairs. It is as elegant and subtle as possible, but could simply use a bit more weight to reach olympic status. It sounds funny to recommend big sips for this dram at a price of 3.000 Euro a bottle, but that is key for getting more out of it, just like it should be done with the Laphroaig 40, another fragile beauty. The medium-lengthy finish reverberates the nose wonderfully. Altogether, this is already on the wane after 43 years. Great stuff, but the best Glenglassaugh, BenRiach and Lochside are easily on par with Mr. Whitey. Well, who cares, I loved every second we could spend together.

Score: 93

Comment: This one has not been talked about recently. Of course it is winey (albeit not sweet or Port-like), but also very elegant and typical for a 1980ies Bowmore with a lot of distillery character (leafy, ferny, lilac, herbal as hell, in fact, and: chlorine – yeah, yeah, some hate this style – discrete peat and pepper spice) and the Bowmore-esque balance. The taste is identically typical, which is good or bad news, depending on your view on this period of Bowmore distillation. I like it. But it will definitely split the opinions. The 56% abv. are not evident. Nice dram, but no ‘must-have’.

Score: 88

Caperdonich 39 y.o. Whisky-Fässle 1972 – 2011 Refill Sherry Cask 45,0% (Joint Bottling with Whiskybase.com)

Comment: This summer dram is mainly built on four pillars: 1) tropical fruit (apricots, banana, lemon, kiwi, grapefruit, passionfruit), 2) charcoaled white oak and the spiciness/vanilla going with that, 3) honey, and 4) a field of flowers with honeybees, pollen and discrete herbs. That is quite something already. On the side, there are aromas of fine Earl Grey tea, white chocolate, peanuts and a bit of smoke. It reminds me of a fine sweet wine from Italy in some moments (a Vin Santo or a South Tyrolean Passito). The whole combo is surprisingly fresh and alive for such an age, but also a bit oaky. Like with many other Whisky-Fässle-bottlings, the Sherry influence is rather low here. Fino? Third-fill? Whatever, utterly awesome whisky! If the oak had a slightly smaller role this would be legendary!

Score: 90

Let’s have Bowmore Single Malt today, two youngsters, head-to-head. The distillery has regained a good standing among the real Islay fans because the whiskies after 1990 (with 1993 being outstanding but also atypical) have turned more consistent and peaty while having lost the lavender/chlorine offnote some people hated. I have to state that I never had problems with that kind of Bowmore profile, even in the 1980ies – and I have always cherished their distillates over time because of the roundness in character and complexity while being absolutely unique. You surely can tell a Bowmore from other distilleries‘ drams. It is great to see that they managed to regain their ‚terroir‘ after 1994 by also keeping the new steamtrain power notes. Sweet completeness.

Bowmore’s Scientific Secret

A Very Interesting Chart

However, what they know about distilling can’t be translated to the fields of science, I guess. Take a close look at this graph, or what they call the Bowmore version of the Beaufort Scale (nice marketing though) printed on the box of the ‚Tempest‘: There is an x-axis for complexity and a y-axis for, well, smokiness AND storm levels (on the right). So smoke equals storm, or what? Or what do the two x-determiners mean. I am lost. Shouldn’t the product of both axes deliver the final result? Drop me a mail if you can explain Bowmore math to me – or the responsible marketing guy’s logic .

Who cares anyway, let’s get down to what matters most: the whisky inside the bottles:

Bowmore 10 y.o. OB ‚Tempest‘, bottled 2010, Small Batch Release No. 2, First-Fill Bourbon Casks, 56%

Nose: The first-fill Bourbon Casks make this fruitier and slightly oakier than the Ambassador’s Cask – it is very round and the peat, smoke and spice (white pepper, Chipotle) stand only in the background – but add to the mix. I find vanilla, toffee, Orange Pekoe tea, goarse, lemons, apricots, apples, green bananas and lots of orange marmelade as well. It becomes spicier with time but overall, it remains on the gentle side of peated Islay drams. Late tobacco joins the unusual mix.

Palate: Now we have much more Bowmore typicality, different from what the nose had suggested. I love this profile, it reminds me of the old Mariner, but with more fruit and orange liqueur covered by chocolate (hence sweeter) – without losing the Island traits. It is so round that water would be an insult to it.

Finish: The fruit is equal in weight to softened Islay notes and the Bowmore character. Medium length, definitely shorter than the Ambassador’s Cask. Very easy to drink so that a second dram is desired.

Score: 88

Comment: Clean and fruity style, but still true Bowmore. It is well-priced and a recommendable bottling for those who like the softer elements of Bowmore. Only the name doesn’t fit. I’d call it Bowmore ‚Tropical Depression‘ .

Islay Single Malt Scotch (Bowmore) 13 y.o. for the German Malt Ambassadors 1996 – 2009, Bourbon Cask, 180 btl., 58,8%

(identical to Bowmore 13 y.o. James MacArthur’s ‚Old Masters‘ 1996 – 2009, 58,8%)

Nose: Less fruity but more spice, a lot of spice (black and white pepper, chili, salt, even juniper like in a Caol Ila) and Islay (maritime freshness, seaspray, peat, smoke, dirty harbour) in here. Intriguing: There is bell pepper (which I love). This should be called Tempest. It clearly shows Bowmore characteristics (more than the Tempest) like ferns, leafs, lilacs, forest floor and ozony chlorine after a while. The only fruit components I can detect are lemon zests and apples. This one sings Iggy Pop’s greatest hit.

Palate: Brine, salt, spice combo, peat, tar, herbs (stinging nettle) and harbour aromas, even old tires and ropes hanging in oily seawater. No water again, but hotter on the palate than the Tempest.

Finish: Long, complex and spicy, slightly flinty later with traces of iodine, a bit like a peppered and salted steak on a steamtrain – and an apple as dessert. This is a true South Coast Islay.

Score: 89

Comment: A very nice bottling, which was relabeled from a James MacArthur release only for the German Malt Ambassadors. If you like your Bowmore spicy and more phenolic, this is your choice. More tempesty than the Tempest. I like!

Auchentoshan 11 y.o. / 1999 SMWS 5.29, 60,6%

Kommentar:
Apfel und Birne, Holzkohle, Heu und Trockenblumen, grünes Malz, Vanille; im Geschmack recht scharf, auch viel Wasser hilft da nicht.

Bewertung: 77

Glenmorangie 18 y.o. / 1992 SMWS 125.39, 55,7%

Kommentar:
Voll, süß, tropisch reif, sehr deutliches Bourbon Cask, dezenter Rauch, Vanille, Toffee, Nelke, Pfirsich; im Geschmack ein Grenzgang zwischen reifem Single Malt und Bourbon, aber man muss schon ein Bourbon-Freak sein, in dieser Richtung extrem: dennoch klasse.

Bewertung: 90

Mortlach 20 y.o. / 1989 SMWS 76.75, first-fill Sherry, 58,8%

Kommentar:
Überraschend maritim und rau, recht torfig für einen Mortlach, Leder, Pflaumen und Datteln, Spur Schwefel; die Rosinen treten im Geschmack wieder in den Vordergrund, dennoch eine gelungene Abwechslung zu den sonstigen eindimensionalen Rosinenbombern, dazu gute Würze, Moos.

Bewertung: 88

Bowmore 16 y.o. / 1994 SMWS 3.169, Refill Sherry Butt, 56,6%

Kommentar:
Bowmore auf dem Bauernhof: starke Noten von Heu und Mist, Harnsäure, Torf, Schwefel, dazu Zitronen-Aromen und Cappuccino – was für ein wilder Mix! Im Geschmack kommen Noten einer Dampflok auf, Jod, Trafobrand, Farn, Schwefel, viel deutlicher Islay als Bowmore früher war. Was für Leute, die klare Islay-Power mögen, die klassische Bowmore-Mitte mit Balance fehlt hier.

Bewertung: 89

Ardbeg 8 y.o. / 2001 SMWS 33.92, 57,5%

Kommentar:
Ardbeg, wie ich ihn mag: sehr klassisch im Stil, keine Offnote, richtig gelungen. Tipp!

Bewertung: 90

Aultmore 28 y.o. / 1982 SMWS 73.39, Refill Sherry Butt, 55,4%

Kommentar:
Obstig, reif, braucht Wasser zur Öffnung; Pfirsich; Geschmacklich sehr ausgewogen und reif, komplexe Frucht und feine Bourbon-Weißeiche, florale Noten, Vanille. Tipp!

Bewertung: 90

Glen Moray 10 y.o. / 2000 SMWS 35.48, 59,3%

Kommentar:
Apfel, Birne, Rauch, Vanille, Passionsfrucht, Brennnessel, Bärlauch und weitere Anteile an Kräuterlikör (jedoch erst nach Wasserzugabe); im Geschmack tropische Frucht in schwermütigem Charakter (Dose), Eiche und Vanille.

Bewertung: 89

Linkwood 27 y.o. / 1982 SMWS 39.78, 55,1%

Kommentar:
Heu, Rauch, Holundersirup, Beeren, Heidehonig, viel Komplexität, die im Geschmack mit voller Kraft auftritt: wow! Beeren und Frucht ohne zu viel Holzeinfluss bringen den Trinker in Verzückung. Tipp!

Bewertung: 91

Benrinnes 13 y.o. / 1996 SMWS 36.51, 61,9%

Kommentar:
Kräuter, heimisches Obst, Mandarine und deren Schale, Kondensmilch, Spur Kaffee, Honig; Im Geschmack dominiert das trockene Milieu mit Heu und Trockenblumen, Lakritz und Vanille – ein typischer Speysider.

Bewertung: 87

Port Charlotte 6 y.o / 2003 SMWS 127.6, 65,2%

Kommentar:
Es übermannt einen sofort der typische Kräuter-Torf-Jod-Mix dieses Destillats. Auch Kreide, Pflaume und Zitronensäure sind riechbar. Im Geschmack setzen sich der moosige Torf, Schwefel und Jod durch, im Hintergrund verweilen Sattelfett, Wurzeln und Cola. Trotz der Fassstärke keine Verdünnung notwendig. Tipp!

Bewertung: 92

Mortlach SMWS 76.78 ‚Foamy bananas dipped in cayenne pepper‘, 15 y.o., July 1995, first fill Sherry Butt, 625 bottles, 55,8%

Nose: Quite alcoholic at first, then a nice mix unfolds – rum-raisins and vanilla ice cream, a touch of Marsala wine, chili and black pepper add to a slight woody spiciness, dry but not overwhelming Sherry-influence, buttered toast, apples and peaches. One can already smell that this dram needs water.

Palate: Surprisingly elegant with some water (necessary): Apples pave the way to a medium-sweet and creamy mouthfeel with maltiness and smoke.

Finish: Rum-Raisins with Marsala and Sherry are counterbalanced by nice warm oaky notes.

Score: 89

Comment: Much more complex than many other mono-dimensional raisin drams by Mortlach of that time.

Bowmore SMWS 3.175 ‚On the dunes – watching a puffer‘, 16 y.o., April 1994, refill Sherry Butt, 572 bottles, 56%

Nose: Like many great Bowmores, the nose is perfectly balanced between Islay roughness and the complexity this distillery brings to the table. The Sherry is well-integrated and fits the combo. Leafy ferns (typical for Bowmore once) and herbs, fresh sea spray and ozone, Chesterfield couch in mahogani room, remotely lemony and exotic fruitiness, sweet cherries as well,humidor and Asian spices.

Palate: Drinkable with or without water; stays high class all the way through, all notes above woven together. The Sherry adds such a wonderful  and discrete sweet dimension with many tertiary aromas.

Finish: Waving the Bowmore flag proudly. A noble dram with a nice hint of sulphur like from old fired children’s guns (red stripe) at carnival.

Score: 91

Comment: A must-have at a reasonable price!

Ardbeg SMWS 33.96 ‚Chocolate Caviar‘, August 1996, refill Sherry Butt, 668 bottles, 56,9%

Nose: A powerhouse of a nose: Clearly Ardbeg! The infernal trio of peat, sulphur and iodine is accompanied by burnt tires, a bit of resin, leather, white pepper, celp, lemon and orange zests, espresso, milk chocolate and chalk – plus the well integrated Sherry tones (plum cake) from the Refill Butt.

Palate: No water needed; The taste is the one of older Ardbeg before the takeover in 1997. Not as complex as the nose suggested

Finish:  A harmonic finish with iodine, chocolate, peat and sulphur.

Score: 90

Comment: Really good Ardbeg, but doesn’t fully live up to its nose.

Port Charlotte SMWS 127.7 ‚A sense of elemental freedom‘, 7 y.o., August 2003, refill Sherry Butt, 687 bottles, 66,6%

Nose: Another monster of a nose – deep rooty peat and herbal notes, beef jerky, Maggi, Sherry, pine branches in a beach fire with resinous smoke, oil and tar, black pepper, Sicilian-style- roasted coffee beans, touch of Jägermeister – all rather raw and untamed.

Palate: At 66.6% this is diabolic and becomes better with water, but one can sip it pure as well. Really smoky and dry with a slight herbal bitterness and the aromas of the nose.

Finish: Stays untamed and true to itself. An outdoor barbecue dram that takes no prisoners.

Score: 87

Comment: One has to like it raw, I would love to try this mustang in its older and more mature days…