Bowmore 15 Year Golden & Elegant

After opening the bottle, you would tell it is a peat sweet bomb. Unfortunately, it turns out that the wood dominates the spirit and the distillery style. Chill-filtered, coloured, but really oily. Gave it a chance, buying a bottle. Starting from the nose it feels like straightway like a bourbon. Vanilla, honey, caramel, apricot sweet nectar - all feelings from a good bourbon. There is a touch of sea feeling - salt, also a soft earthy peat and roasted salty almonds. Obviously the bourbon casks are dominating the spirit on the palate as well. There is an earthy smoke, but is really nectar sweet. After it there is a memory of peat forgotten of the current honey, fruity and vanilla taste. The balanced peat reminds me of a Ledaig 10yo, but there is less spirit character here. I am not that fan of sweet whiskies.

I am not a big Bowmore fan, but this one and the 18 yo one are the best expressions of this brand. Bottled only for the travel retail market, the label says "bourbon cask, golden and elegant". Bottled at 43% with a tawny color. On the nose: burnt rubber as soon as you open the bottle, peat, salt, prunes, sea aroma and beach aroma, quite impressive notes. On the palate, not a lot going on: oranges, hotness in a pleasant way, a long spicy and ashy finish, and an aftertaste full of allspice. Overall i give this one a solid 84 over 100, maybe the best score for a Bowmore in my opinion. Cheers.

Where’s the peat? The smoke? The islay? Perhaps mellowed by the 15 years in the barrel…yes, there’s wood spice and tannin in there to be sure. That’s quite nice actually. Perhaps it’s been filtered and colored and watered away…unfortunately true on all counts. This initially tastes more like bourbon than scotch, all vanilla and caramel with a slight bit of salt and smoke on the finish to remind you that you are in fact in the Hebrides. For me and probably many others Bowmore is the forgotten islay stepchild and they don’t do themselves any favors with this product.

Quite a pleasant nose, fresh but with a whiff of smoke. Sweet bourbon profile but with more complexity. Some fruity, citrusy notes also. Vanilla on the palate and then smoke kicks in together with a spicy character. But overall still smooth. I enjoy the typical Bowmore characteristics but without the sherry cask influence. Medium finish.

Wonderful add to the Bowmore travel exclusives. Medium honey in color. Deep and rich on the palate with an array of dried fruits, toasted cereal, with salted caramel and other tones of the sea not far in the background. Finish is luxurious, rich with fruit, brine, and just the right amount of smoke. A truly enjoyable dram.

I was underestimating this malt but it surprised me. Nice dram, very reach but also gente