Bowmore 25 Year

Review #026 Type: single malt scotch Proof: 43% Comments: aged 25 years, ex-sherry and ex-bourbon Tasted after: Bowmore 18 Year Appearance (no score): Burnt umber color. Swirling reveals a thick line sticking to the side of the glass, legs form quickly. Nose: 18/20 Sweetness and fire embers, grilled pineapple, smoke, vanilla, hay, leather, and a light mustiness that reminds me of old books. Palate: 38/40 The flavor comes out of no where, but it’s a welcome bold uppercut to my tastebuds. It’s remarkably sweet, cherries and red currents dominate, accompanied by oak spice, campfire smoke, something tropical like mangoes, limoncello, and sea salted dark chocolates. Finish: 36/40 Medium-long finish. The alcohol burn and oak spice remain in perfect balance, gradually some cinnamon makes an appearance but there’s no flavor roller coaster here, it knows it’s delicious as-is and is content to let it ride until the last stop. With Water: Didn’t try with water unfortunately. Total: 92/100 Final thoughts: This is a really, really good dram, it’s a shame it takes 25 years to produce a scotch this good but certainly it well worth the wait! The price tags I’ve seen on these bottle may intimidate me from making a solo purchase, but would likely buy on site if I found one on sale. Price: taste from a friend’s bottle Would recommend: yes Would buy: maybe Scoring Legend: 96-100: The perfect dram, absolutely exceptional, nectar of the gods, I will savor this bottle and make it last, 5 stars. 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky, 4.75 stars. 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product, 4.5 stars. 80-84: Quite good, very enjoyable to drink, but doesn’t wow me, 4.25 stars. 75-79: Good, enjoyable but ultimately flawed, unlikely to purchase again, 4 stars. 70-74: A solid dram, but wouldn't go out of my way to get it, 3.75 stars. 55-69: Drinkable, 3.5-2.75 stars. Below 55: Suitable for cooking or direct contribution to the kitchen sink drain, 2.5 stars or less.

A quarter of a century is always a good age statement for a whisky, specially if it comes from the Peat capital of the world, Islay. This is one luxuty dram, the 25yo Bowmore. The official website says that this whisky has been fully matured flr 25 years in ex bourbon and spanish sherry casks. Bottled at 43%abv, with a lovely tawny color. On the nose, starts grassy and peaty. Burnt hay; leather, actually a leather jacket. Some sweetness has risen, cherries and mint liquor. Earthy notes. It has the exact aroma of raw, uncooked rice. The aroma gave notes of old paper, or old envelopes from my law office. After some sips it changed into the most fancy toffee ever, butterscotch. On the palate, it is deliciously sweet, so unexpected after nosing it. Cherry syrup, lemoncello and sawdust. Chocolate everywhere. Aftertaste is peaty and fabulous. Cigarrettes, ashtray and pepper. Dry and woody. Not overly complex, but well delivered. Overall, this is quite an elegant and complex dram. I really liked how the peatiness has transformed into leather but somehow keeps the smokiness after 25 years. The cherry sweetness was fantastic and it came out of nowhere. My score for this amazing expression is 93 over 100.

Hmm, peat, nutts vanilla, slightly sulfuric / tanninic sherry. Initially I thought slightly overwooded. Unlike some drams where the things that bug me get more and more prominent, this whiskey I settle into more and more. Prunes, dark fruit, very interesting dram. It's good but I'm slightly torn on how good, I think it's one you really need a bottle to work through over time perhaps. Its more complex and has more depth than the 18 from memory but not sure about the balance of certain aspects. By the end I was thinking definitely a 4.25.

Drammers Club Pour. Distilled in 1969. Great tropical and smoke balance. Nose: Smoke, Chocolate, Raspberries, Mangoes, Strawberries, Peaches, Oranges, Caramel, Pears, Kiwis, Papayas, Pineapples, Cherries, Vanilla, Lavender, Toffee Palate: Mangoes, Smoke, Salted Caramel, Chocolate, Raisins, Papayas, Flowers, Bacon, Tinned Peaches, Oranges, Pineapples, Brine, Salmon Finish: Mangoes, Tar, Iodine, Chocolate, Sea Salt, Strawberries, Caramel, Cinnamon, Peaches, Dill, Cod, Raisins

Lol. Again, if I paid $500 for this bottle I’d give this a 2 but I didn’t so it’s quite good. Lagavulin 16 is better tho. I have a Talisker 30 that is magnificent. This is really good but it’s a bit thin. It’s nice but at 25 years it should be amazing. Because this was shared with me it gets a 4+ but I give the Talisker 30 a 5 and I paid for it. If I paid for this what I just googled the prices are I’d be a little pissed

★★★★½ Bowmore Vertical 4 of 7 That's good and expensive! I don't think I'll ever be rich enough to afford a whisky of that value. More expensive than the 25 Small Batch, I unfortunately found it less interesting. It is an extremely well-balanced whisky where the flavours complement each other perfectly, but there is not only the WOW effect that I felt a year and a half ago with its namesake.