Bowmore 12 Year Old Enigma

If you’re not a fan of Bowmore’s house style; you’ll probably hate this. If you’re not a fan of peat/sherry marriages; you’ll probably hate this. I’m sure that there are a lot of people out there who could never be fans of this whisky. Admittedly, this is a loud, obvious, uninhibited, and unsophisticated addition to the peat/sherry family. But if you can handle the style and you don’t mind a lack of nuance, then go ahead and pour yourself a dram. For contrast’s sake I’m sipping the Enigma side-by-side with its older brother, the Darkest.

Nose: Here we have Bowmore’s signature gentle peat and smoke mixed with a very sweet, candied sherry. Maraschino cherries, red licorice, strawberry syrup, and a sweet, light caramel. There’s also leather, salt, cinnamon, praline, and toffee. There is an oak note here, but it can’t compare to the deep, rich woodiness that one gets from the nose of the Darkest. Very sweet and gently smoky, but not very subtle or complex.

Palate: Very much a continuation of the nose, but with stronger peat. The peat and sherry come on simultaneously, however they don’t seem to intersect. Candy flavours are here; once again giving us maraschino cherries, licorice, and strawberry syrup. Meanwhile the peat continues to offer salt, leather, and praline.

Finish: The smoke takes the lead here. There’s a lingering tobacco note, and those maraschino cherries persist. Salt and light caramel. Some drying oak comes in, but it’s not the strong, rich oak presence that I enjoy so much in the Darkest.

Unsurprisingly, this pales in comparison to its older brother. Not only is the Enigma more “candied,” but it has a lower abv, less complexity, less depth, less integration of flavours, and less of that beautiful, dark, rich woodiness that I love about the Darkest. Also, both the peat and sherry are very loud in this dram, so there’s little subtlety or nuance to be found. Finally, it lacks integration. The sherry and peat seem to be working apart from one another; the flavours never really seem to intersect or interact. Indeed, this is far from being the best combination of peat and sherry.

So why, then, do I still like this? Well for one thing it’s cheap, and it’s sold in a 1L bottle. More importantly; it’s a good casual sipper if you’re a fan of the style. This is my go-to dram when I want something from the peat/sherry family tree, but I don’t feel the need to analyze or indulge. This is the perky, cheery, dimwitted cheerleader of the genre. Not very deep, but attractive, fun, harmless, and sweet.

Would have liked something a little more bold and exciting but it wasn't to be. Surprisingly sweet on the nose for an Islay and unfortunately a bit unremarkable. The nose had touches of honeyed raisins with a hint of oaky leather. The palate was much nicer as it introduced itself with subtle vanilla and caramel. The finish brought with it something woody. Something that felt like star anise. I'm in a good mood. I would drink this again.

Bowmore is the captial of Islay, but it's not at all a big place. The distillery, however, is not only the largest on the island, but also the oldest, founded in 1779. The spirit is used for the blends King Pride, Clan Roy, Black Bottle and Islay Legend. But there are of course quite a few bottlings as single malts.

This expression, the 12 Year Old Enigma, is to be found in a 1 litre bottle, since it's only available in the traval retail segment.

The color is a full gold, almost Old Sauternes and rather oily.

The nose is a sweet mix of caramel and the obligatory peat, but very soft peat indeed. It's not dominant at all. It's smells a bit like new car tyres. There is some salt, neatly packed in sweet sherry with honey. Even a little orange liquer. Think Cointreau, but softer. Leave it a while and you'll smell more of the wood. Very interesting and attractive. It's hard to stop smelling this one.

The first swallow... whoa! A kick in the teeth, truly. Halfway through it dries the mouth and becomes quite smokey, followed immediately with some sweet fruits and sherry. This dram is so rich, you can almost chew it!

The finish is long with the peat playing first violin again. Completely balanced dram in my book.

I'll be going abroad soon. I'll be on the lookout for this one in the duty free shop.