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Bowmore 12 Year Old

Swing Man

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@VictorReview by @Victor

2nd Jan 2014

0

Bowmore 12 Year Old
  • Nose
    21
  • Taste
    22
  • Finish
    20
  • Balance
    21
  • Overall
    84

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Bowmore 12 YO malt is, for many, the youngest acceptable Bowmore. The younger Bowmores show for many too much roughness in general and a leather note for which many do not care

The reviewed bottle has been open for 3 years, is 90% full, and has been preserved with inert gas for the last 15 months

Nose: medium slightly sweet peat, a hint of rosewater, a little brine, and a hint of smoke, against a background of barley-malt. Pleasant, and more mellow than is the nose of either Bowmore Legend 8 YO or McClelland's Islay 5 YO Bowmore malt

Taste: strong sweet peat flavours in the mouth, stronger than the peat flavours in the nose; otherwise, the nose translates well to the mouth

Finish: the strong sweetness and the malt flavours last a medium length; the ending is on bitter

Balance: Bowmore 12 YO Distillery bottling exemplifies the medium-peat Islay malt style. Personally I prefer whiskies to be more heavily peated and more medicinal/briney than is Bowmore 12, but I consider Bowmore 12 to be a very drinkable malt whisky. Those who like other Islay medium peated whiskies, such as most of the products from the Caol Ila distillery, will likely also like Bowmore 12 YO

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1 comments

@hunggar
hunggar commented

Very well said, @Victor. I also prefer the heavier stuff, but Bowmore seems to be targeted a bit too much imho. A friend of mine HATES Bowmore. We had something of a debate about it just earlier tonight. I suspect in his mind an Islay whisky has no value unless it’s a devastating peat monster. Obviously I disagree. Not every Islay distillery needs to be locked in a competition as to who has the highest ppm or the most aggressive profile (although it’s fun that some are). I’ll concede that Bowmore is guilty of a few offenses (like generally lower abvs, adding E150a, and releasing immature stock at overblown prices). BUT I don’t think they should be chastised just because they’re NOT Ardbeg or Laphroaig. Medium peat has its place in the spectrum, and I think this dram is exactly what it should be: medium and mellow. As far as I’m concerned the 12 sits comfortably in its own niche, and I’m glad to see some other members here can also appreciate this one.

Anyway, enough ranting. Merci for another great review!

10 years ago 0