“It’s Only Natural”
Country: Scotland
Region: Islay
Brand: Bowmore 2001 Carn Mor (Strictly Limited Range)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 11 Years
Alcohol: 46%
Colour: Light Gold
Nose: Light, Young and Crisp with Soft Campfire Smoke, Grassy Peat, Charred Oak, light Iodine, Ashes, Salted Butter, Lemon Peel, Dried Herbs, light Vanilla, Golden Syrup, Biscuits, Apple, Pear, Grapefruit, Herbal Tea, Malt, Cinnamon and Cloves. None of the Aromas is aggressive in any way. If this would have been a painting, the artist would have used Water Paint. I hardly detect any Sherry influence. A bit of Dried Fruit perhaps. In any case the PX Finish was a short one or the cask wasn't very active. Or both! Please give this Bowmore sufficient time in the glass before Nosing as the Alcohol is not yet fully integrated.
Taste: Light and Pleasant with Soft Smoke, Dirt Road, light Ashes, light Tar, light Iodine, Sweet Barley, Hazelnut Milk Chocolate, Raisins, light Vanilla, Dried Herbs, Tea, light Licorice, Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves, Pear and Mandarin Juice. Again I observe a very limited Sherry influence.
Finish: Middle-Long with a slight Bitterness towards the end. I find Soft Smoke, Dirt Road, light Ashes, Charred Oak, Pipe Tobacco, Salty Licorice, Espresso, Lemon Peel, Nuts, light Honey, light Vanilla, Dried Herbs, Cinnamon, Ginger, light Pepper and a hint of Dark Chocolate. The Finish is the slightly Weaker part of this Bowmore.
Rating: 85
Nose: 21.5 – Taste: 21.5 – Finish: 20.5 – Overall: 21.5
General Remarks:
The Bowmore distillery is the oldest one on Islay and was founded in 1779 by David Simpson. It's one of the few distilleries that has its own Malting Floors. In 1994 Suntory from Japan took control. Suntory merged with Beam last year.
The Bowmore 2001 I'm tasting today was distilled in 2001. It matured in two Hogsheads before receiving a short PX Cask Finish. Only 549 bottles were bottled in 2013 by Carn Mor for their Strictly Limited Range that was launched in 2012. This Bowmore is Naturally Coloured and bottled without Chill-Filtration. You can still find some bottles here and there at an average price of around 65 US Dollars.
The Bowmore distillery is the oldest one on Islay and was founded in 1779 by David Simpson. It's one of the few distilleries that has its own Malting Floors. In 1994 Suntory from Japan took control. Suntory merged with Beam last year.
The Bowmore 2001 I'm tasting today was distilled in 2001. It matured in two Hogsheads before receiving a short PX Cask Finish. Only 549 bottles were bottled in 2013 by Carn Mor for their Strictly Limited Range that was launched in 2012. This Bowmore is Naturally Coloured and bottled without Chill-Filtration. You can still find some bottles here and there at an average price of around 65 US Dollars.
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion: The Sherry influence is negligible and the Alcohol is not yet fully integrated. But other than that, this is a Light but Pleasant Bowmore expression by Carn Mor with hardly any Sharp Edges except for the slight Bitterness in the Finish. The Price Quality ratio is good. If you like your Bowmore a little less Sugary Sweet and "Heavy" than usual, this might be an excellent alternative. I personally enjoyed the fact that no Colouring Agent was used as I believe the regular Distillery expressions suffer a bit in this respect. To be honest, I believe there should be a ban on the use of E-150. But that's daydreaming for the time being!
Jan van den Ende October 12, 2015
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