Bowmore 12 Year Old 2001 Signatory UCF

I found this young Bowmore at the Spirits in the Sky festival in Brussel early November. It is bottled by Andrew Symington in the Un-Chillfiltered Collection from Signatory and is just a month shy of being 13 years old, distilled on 25 September 2001 and bottled on 25 August 2014.

Hello? This is a very sweet and fruity Bowmore with hardly any peat. Active sherry cask, even though it is refill (which normally means that it has been used twice before at least). Sultanas, nuts, orange cake, a drop of dark honey. The only thing that truly points toward Bowmore is a meaty edge with some pepper. Only after a few minutes do I get a salty edge, but the sweetness has no qualms nipping this in the bud.

It is a bit oily on the palate, but also a bit piquant. The saltiness shines through, but the sweetness holds the line. All kinds of fruits that you would associate with sherry. Midpalate the peat kicks in.

The finish is warm, spicy and sweet with a nice development of smoke. My tongue is tingling.

Seeing is believing, I suppose. I know it is a Bowmore, but can hardly believe it. So good, though!

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