Bowmore 1992 Bordeaux Cask 16yo

I plan to rant on a bit here so forgive me in advance....

First can I just say a big thanks to all Connosr members who contributed to my discussion about this one without whom I wouldn't be drinking this now, (connosr.com/wall/discussion/…). I had a couple of bottles of it 2-3 years ago from The Whisky Exchange but had given up hope of ever finding it again. So when @Whisk found a shop in London selling it at a mere £75 I leapt at the chance and grabbed a couple of bottles.

The reason I love this whisky so much, (apart from it being Bowmore - my favourite distillery) is its uniqueness. It really is so very different from any other in its flavour profile - that's not to say it's way above every other whisky, in fact it's not even my top-rated one, (but deffo in my top 5). But it is, well, different.

It has spent six years in Bourbon casks followed by ten years in Bordeaux wine casks - not that common in whisky maturation. Now I'm not a big wine drinker but if I had to select my preferred wine it would be a Bordeaux. So this for me is the perfect marriage of my favourite distillery with my favourite wine....

The first thing that I notice about this is the intense colour - it's red! Not just reddish hints in a gold whisky like in a sherry matured malt - this is deep red, almost auburn coloured. Fascinating.

On the nose I get sharp red berries followed by rhubarb(!) crumble dessert. Blackberries and finally a hint of Bowmore smoke become apparent.

Stewed dates and plums are on the palate where the smokiness finally reveals itself more intensely. Now, let's not forget this is Bowmore and I always think this does best with water and time to breathe. So returning in a few mins..........

The nose now reminds me of Battenburg cake - Marzipan flavours. I'm also thinking treacle toffee around a bonfire. Slightly sweet but still hinting at fruit dessert.

The palate lacks any sweetness the nose suggests. It is like walking through damp rainy woodland in autumn with ripe berries ready to pick and trees shedding their leaves in gold and red colours. With wood smoke in the background.

Also there's a strong astringency in the mouthfeel too - tannins from the Bordeaux wine I would suspect. A very dry finish with smoke. Brilliant.

To conclude - when I first put the discussion up a few weeks ago I didn't really expect to find anything as I'd spent the past few months searching the net without success. At best I thought something in the range of £200-£300/bottle might turn up. To actually get this at £75/bottle was amazing and I cannot recommend it enough. Having said that, it's probably not to everyone's taste. As I mentioned it is very different and if a spicy Speyside or sherry monster is your preferred malt then this is about as far removed from that as you can get. It's even quite far out from the classic Bowmore profile, (but if you love the Bowmore style I still think you'd like this).

Oh and just to finish I can now detect cigar smoke on the tongue - about 15 mins since I last sipped it.

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