Country: Scotland
Region: Islay
Brand: Bowmore 1990 (Wiebers Castle Collection)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 12 Years
ABV: 43 %
Date: 13/11/2013
Sample Provided by Marcus from Germany. Thanks!
Colour: Golden Sunlight
Nose: A well balanced, laid-back and almost introverted combination of Fruit (Apples, Pears and Peaches), Soft Peat, Malt, Gentle Smoke, Lemon, Custard, light Oak, very light Spices and a pinch of Salt. Probably matured in an Ex-Bourbon Cask. Nicely integrated Alcohol.
Palate: Slightly Thin Delivery. This Bowmore should definitively have been bottled at Cask Strength. I find Barley Sugar, Soft Peat, Vanilla, light Oak, Salt, Lemon, Pepper, Ginger, light Ashes and a hint of Iodine. I had expected a bit more after Nosing. On the Nose the introvert character of this Bowmore works fine for me but on the Palate I would have liked to see a bit more Power and Punch!
Finish: Middle-Long, Dry and and ever so slightly Sour with Barley Sugar, Sweet Peat, Green Apples, light Smoke, Lemon, Pepper, light Ashes, a pinch of Salt and hints of Iodine and Milk Chocolate.
This Bowmore does not accept Water very well. Better sip it neat.
Rating: 84
Nose: 22 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 20 - Overall: 21
The Sample came from this bottle!
General Remarks: The Bowmore Distillery was founded in 1779 by John P. Simpson. It is located on the South Eastern shore of Loch Indaal and is owned by Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd, part of the Japanese Suntory Group. The Bowmore we are tasting today was distilled in 1990 and matured in Cask # 964 for 12 years. It was bottled in 2002 by Independent Bottler Jack Wiebers Whisky World from Germany in the Castle Collection Series 7. The whisky is naturally coloured and not Chill-Filtered. It was sold at around 70 US Dollars.
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion: This is not your average Standard Bowmore with its characteristic - and sometimes overwhelming combination of Sweet (Sherry), Peat, Ashes, Iodine and Leather. This Bowmore 1990 is well-balanced but quite understated on the Nose. The relatively low ABV leaves the Palate slightly on the Thin Side and without sufficient Power. The Finish, although certainly not bad, does not leave a lasting impression. This could have been a great Islay but in the end it's "just" a good one!
Jan van den Ende November 2013
2 comments:
Hi Jan, I think this is a proper rating for this Malt. Although I must say, that especially the mouthfeel was very much to my taste. But I agree that this one is quite different compared to the official standard Bowmores, and even more a matter of taste, than in the case of the official standard range of Bowmore.
Cheers Marcus
Hi Marcus, sorry for the late reaction but I was traveling this weekend. We had a holiday in Brazil last Friday so we spend a long weekend in the mountains. This is certainly a different Bowmore when compared to the Standard range but I would have liked to see it bottled at a higher ABV. Nevertheless, it's not a bad dram! Cheers and enjoy the rest of your Sunday!
Jan
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