Bowmore 15 Year Old 1999 Exclusive Malts

David Stirk’s Creative Whisky Company was founded 10 years ago. To celebrate the occasion, they launched a 10th Anniversary bottling in the Exclusive Malts series, which contains only single malts at cask strength. In this case it is a 15 Year Old Bowmore from 1999. The cask yielded only 230 bottles, that will each fetch around 112 EUR.

The bittersweet, soft nose offers a whole lot of citrus up front. Think lemon and grapefruit. Some apples and maybe some gooseberries. Turns slightly tropical after a few minutes. Think pineapple and mango. And the peel of a green banana. It then turns somewhat mineral. Fatty coals and some medicinale touches, although those are certainly not in your face. Finally some farmer’s butter.

Good body. A bit piquant and immediately all kinds of citrus appear on the palate, followed by sweet vanilla and ashes. Becomes somewhat dirty on the tongue, which I can appreciate. The smokiness becomes quite big all of a sudden. Pepper rears its head. Hint of sea salt. Leaf of mint? Lime juice and oyster juice go hand in hand. Some garden herbs and green tea towards the end.

In the long, warm finish sweet and salty go head to head. It leaves the mouth dry.

Punchy textbook Bowmore. Instant classic. Recommended.

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