Bowmore 100 Degrees Proof Review

"The  Sailors of Old Would Approve"

Country: Scotland

Region: Islay

Brand: Bowmore 100 Degrees Proof 

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS

ABV: 57,1 %

Sample Provided By Marlie from The Netherlands. Thanks a Lot!

Colour: Yellow Gold/Amber

Nose: Sweet Malt, light Sherry, light Sulphur, Dried Fruits, Nuts, Wet-Salted Leather, Cigarette Smoke, Old Cigar Box, Dusty Earth, light Rubber, Shell Fish, Charred Oak, Toast, Orange, Roasted Coffee, Vanilla, Toffee, Dried Herbs, Menthol, Straw, Lemon Peel, Sugared Ginger and Peanut Butter. The Alcohol is not fully integrated. 

Palate: The Alcohol is a bit Strong and the Spirit Young and Fiery. I find Sweet Malt, Cigarette Smoke, Ashes, Dried Herbs, Shell Fish, Orange or Mandarin, Lemon, Charred Oak, Licorice, Pepper, Salt, Nutmeg, Ginger, light Sherry, light Sulphur, light Rubber or Plastic and a hint of Brandy.

The Samples provided by Marlie!

Finish: Long, Spicy and Smoky with Sweet Malt, Cigarette Smoke, Ashes, Salt, Lemon, Mandarin or Grapefruit, Straw, Pepper, Ginger, Toffee, Licorice, Oak and hints of Rubber and Brandy. 

With a couple of drops of water the 100 Degrees Proof settles down a bit. Just add a couple of drops at the time until you're fine!

Rating: 86.5

Nose: 22 - Taste: 21.5 - 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. The 100 Degrees Proof was launched in 2012 and originally produced for the Travel Retail Market. It's Non Chill-Filtered and bottled at Cask Strength but is surely artificially coloured. It sells at an average 60 US Dollars. The packaging tells us where this Bowmore got its name:

"Around the Time Bowmore was first distilled, the term "Proof Spirit" was born. Sailors of old would check that their Rum rations hadn't been watered down by mixing them with Gun Powder. If the Gun Powder still lit, this "proved" that it was a strong Alcohol or 100 Proof. If it didn't, then the Rum contained too much Water or less than 57% Alcohol. The Sailors used a hydrometer in this process. 100 Proof of Old equals an ABV of 57,1%"

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: A Young, Nervous but Interesting Bowmore. It's Rough, Fiery and Strong, just like the Sailors would have wanted their Rum to be. So it does do justice to its name in my opinion. But at the same time it lacks a bit of Balance. I would have liked to find a bit more Fruit, especially on the Palate and in the Finish. Still, at this price, it's good Value For Money and sufficiently interesting  as a Single Malt. I wouldn't consider this Bowmore as my Daily Dram but it's good enough to try it out if you get the chance!

Jan van den Ende                                                            August 16, 2014

Maker's Mark 46 Review

Country: USA

Brand: Maker’s Mark 46

Type: Bourbon (Kentucky)

Age: Unspecified but said to be around 6 years.

ABV: 47%

Sample provided by Derek from the USA. Many Thanks!

Colour: Copper

Nose: Lovely Sweet Nose with Corn, Wheat, Creme Catalan, Caramel, Toffee, Brown Sugar, Buttered Toast and Orange Marmalade, Maple Syrup, Fresh Puff Pastry filled with Apples, Canned Peach, Milk Chocolate, Cherries, Charred Oak, Sawdust, Fresh Herbs, Cinnamon, light Aniseed, light Clove, Lemon and a hint of strong Black Coffee. Very nice Balance between Sweet, Oak and Spices! Perfect ABV. Good stuff!

Taste: Initially quite Sweet but the Oak and Spices take over soon. I find Corn, Wheat, Vanilla flavoured Pipe Tobacco, Charred Oak, Cinnamon, Clove, Black Pepper, Dried Herbs, light Honey and a hint of Black Tea.

Finish: Lots of Spices and Oak over a Sweet Background. I find Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Chocolate Milk, Cocoa Powder, Nuts, Sweet Corn, Charred Oak, Orange Peel, Toast and Honey, Toffee, Straw and Menthol.

Added Water does not bring any improvement. Sip it neat!

Rating: 86.5

Nose: 22.5 – Taste: 21 – Finish: 21.5 – Overall: 21.5

Derek's Bottle and the Sample!

General Remarks: Only after 50 years the makers of Maker's Mark introduced a new product to the market in 2010. Maker's Mark 46 differs from the regular 45% ABV because Charred French Oak Staves (Profile 46) are placed inside the Barrel after the standard Bourbon has reached maturity. It then matures for an extra 3 months or so. It is priced at around 35 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good. Very Nice Nose!

Conclusion: This is definitively a step up from the standard Maker's Mark that is quite tasty in its own right as well. The slightly higher ABV, the extra Wood contact and the longer Maturation provide the 46 with an extra kick. This works perfectly on the Nose. Lovely combination of Sweet, Wood and Spices. It's hard to stop smelling! But on the Palate and in the Finish the Wood and Spices are too dominant in my opinion. Not enough balance with the Sweet flavours. It would be interesting to see what would happen if you would insert half the amount of the Charred French Oak Staves. I think that would provide more balance to the 46. In any case, this is a good Sipping Bourbon that I can recommend. If you drink your Bourbon on the Rocks, the standard Maker's is the better option!    

Jan van den Ende                                                                  August 13, 2014

Bruichladdich Peat Review

“Liquid Wet Earth  ”

Country: Scotland

Region: Islay

Brand: Bruichladdich Peat

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: NAS

ABV: 46 %

A Gorgeous Day at Bruichladdich!

Colour: Brass

Nose: Young Sweet Peat, Fish on the BBQ, light Brine, light Tar, light Ashes, light Leather, Straw, Buttered Toast, Peanut Butter, Olive Oil, Lemon-Pepper, Mandarin Juice, Canned Pear, Canned Pineapple Slices, Caramel, Salt & Pepper. The Alcohol is not fully integrated. Not very complex but Well-Balanced. I like it!

The Mash Tun in Action!

Palate: Young, slightly Edgy and a bit Thin despite the 46%. I find Sweet Peat, Cold Smoke, light Tar, light Ashes, light Brine, slightly Bitter Oak, Black Coffee, light Plastic, Pepper, Salt, Aniseed, Licorice, light Vanilla, light Honey, Grass, Caramelised Banana, Smoked Pineapple, Barley and a hint of Cinnamon. 

Winding My Way Through the Wash Backs!

Finish: Middle-Long with Sweet Peat, Cold Smoke, Ashes, Salt, Pepper, Licorice, slightly Bitter Oak, light Vanilla, Citrus, Banana, Menthol and a hint of a home-made Cheese-Burger from the BBQ.

Tasting the New Spirit in the Stills Room!

With a couple of drops of water the Nose gets extra Pineapple, Grass and Malt. But Palate and Finish don't benefit from added Water. Better sip it neat!

Rating: 85  

Nose: 22 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21

Is the Spirit really Safe with my Brother in Law Around?

General Remarks: Peat was part of a trilogy with Waves (Mildly Peated) and Rocks (Unpeated). Waves, Peat and the earlier expressions Infinity and Links were phased out in the beginning of 2012. Late 2013, Rocks was the last of the series to be discontinued. Peat (35 ppm) is not Chill-Filtered and not artificially coloured. Peat matured for roughly 5-7 years in Ex-Bourbon Casks selected by Master-Distiller Jim McEwan. It was priced at an average 60 US Dollars in late 2012.

A Few Wonderful Casks!

Drinking Experience Neat: Good  

Conclusion: This is a peated Single Malt alright but quite different from more Medicinal Malts like Ardbeg or Laphraoig. The Bruichladdich Peat is more about Sweet Wet Earth if you know what I mean. And with additional Fruit, Fish, Salt and Spices to give it sufficient balance. I like the Nose. But on the Palate and in the Finish the Bruichladdich Peat is a bit Young and Edgy and I don't particularly like the Bitter Oak component. Still, if you like peated Whisky and you are able to  find it around somewhere, you should check it out! 

The Bottling Facility at Bruichladdich!

Some Data: Bruichladdich means The Shore Bank. The Distillery is located alongside the the A 847 (Bridgend - Portnahaven) in the little village of Bruichladdich, overlooking Loch Indaal. It was founded in 1881 by the Harvey Family from Glasgow. It changed hands for a couple of times until Whyte & Mackay Ltd bought the distillery in 1993 only to close it down until it was bought in 2000 by a couple of private investors headed by Mark Reynier who brought new life to the Distillery, profiling it as " The Progressive Hebridean Distillery" and introducing many special bottlings. In 2012, Buichladdich was sold to Remy Cointreau from France. The Distillery possesses a open cast iron Mash Tun, 6 Wash Backs (Oregon Pine) and 2 Pairs of Stills. In 2013 their total production capacity amounted to around 1,5 million litres, basically sold as Single Malt.

A Private Concert at the VC: Caledonia!

The water for the distillery is sourced from a Loch in the hills close to the Distillery (Mashing) and a Spring on the Octomore Farm (Bottling). The Distillery  opens from Monday - Friday from 09.00 to 17.00 hours and on Saturday from 10.00 to 16.00 (Easter-September) and from Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 17.00 and Saturday from 10.00 to 14.00 (October to Easter). You can do the Standard Tour at 5 Pounds or book extended tours and tastings in advance.

The Very Nice Visitor Centre + Shop!

We visited Bruichladdich on Friday May 16, 2014. It was one of the two sunny days we had on Islay and the view from the Distillery towards the Loch is truly beautiful. First we had a look at the very nice Visitor Centre and the Shop. We then did the Standard Tour at 5 Pounds per person. The tour was nice, but not really special. The people at Bruichladdich are really nice and warm and you immediately feel at home there. In this respect I rank it 2nd only to Laphroaig on Islay. At the end of the tour we tasted the Port Charlotte 13 Years that matured on Chateau d' Yquem Casks and the 2006 Bere Barley. If you can only visit a few distilleries on Islay, Bruichladdich should certainly be one of them!

Jan van den Ende                                                                 August 10, 2014

Lovin' Whisky!