Bowmore 12 Years Review


“The Road to Islay”
Country: Scotland
Region: Islay
Brand: Bowmore
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 12 Years
ABV: 40%
Chill-Filtration: Yes
Buying Advice: 😀  Fully Recommended. Excellent Price/Quality Ratio.
Whisky Review # 574

Colour: Golden Amber (Artificially Coloured)

Nose: Classic Bowmore with Toasted Malt, Buttered Toast, Coastal Peat, Brine, Coal Smoke, light Tar and Soot, Cigar Ashes, Iodine, Leather, light Vanilla, light Shell Fish, Sour Apples, Citrus Peel, Mango Creme, Dark Red Fruit (Berries and Grapes), very light Honey, Straw, Dusty Road, Pepper and Ginger. Everything is nicely balanced but this Single Malt really deserves a higher ABV.  

Palate: Quite Strong and Spicy delivery despite the standard ABV. I find Iodine, Brine, Peat, Smoke, Soot, Tar, Leather, Charred Oak, Dried Herbs, Citrus Peel, light Vanilla, Nuts, Mango, light Honey, Dark Red Fruit, Cocoa Powder, Burnt Toast, Toasted Barley, Pepper, Ginger and Licorice.   
      
Finish: Middle-Long, Bitter-Sweet, Dry, Smoky, Spicy and Salty. The Bitterness increases towards the end. I find Sweet Barley, slightly Burnt Toast, Peat, Coal Smoke, Brine, Charred Oak, Soot, Tar, Cigar Ashes, Hospital, Iodine, Straw, Nuts, Lemon, Bitter Tea, Leather, Pepper, Ginger, Honey, Dried Herbs, Mango, Licorice and Dark Chocolate.

I added a little Water and on the Nose, the Peaty Aromas make way for Citrus and a Tropical Fruit Mix sprinkled with Heather-Honey. Palate and Finish become too Thin for my taste but you can carefully experiment with a few drops.

Rating: 87

Nose: 22 - Taste: 22 - Finish: 21.5 - Overall: 21.5


General Remarks: The Bowmore Distillery was founded in 1779 by John Simpson. It's the oldest Islay distillery, located in Bowmore. Since 1994 it is completely owned by Morrison Bowmore Distilleries, part of the Japanese Suntory Group. It's one of the very few Scottish Distilleries with an active Malting Floor that provides around 30% of the Malt used by Bowmore. The 12 Years is part of Bowmore's core range for the domestic markets alongside the Darkest 15 Years, the 18 Years, the 25 Years as well as the NAS Small Batch Reserve. The average price is around 45 US Dollars (November 2016). 

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: The Bowmore 12 is an excellent Malt to start your Islay Whisky adventure. It's a typical Islay whisky, make no mistake, but the Peat and Smoke levels are quite moderate when compared to most of the other Islay icons like Ardbeg or Laphroaig. This Bowmore is very well-balanced and consistent from Nose to Finish. The price tag is attractive and the Price/Quality ratio is really excellent. Much better than most of the NAS whiskies that are currently thrown at us at higher prices. The only issue I have with the 12 Years is the low ABV. This could have been a great whisky at 46%. But that would have made it more expensive of course. Nevertheless, I can fully recommend the Bowmore 12. A great start on your Road to Islay.     

Jan van den Ende                                                              November 18, 2016

No comments: