Bowmore Adelphi 1995 16YO

Without water this has a pungent briney sea-salt nose which I find much more noticeable than the standard Bowmore profile. Then I find citrussy notes. More orange than lemon this time - generally I find lemon dominates Bowmore. After a while the peatiness is finally apparent along with honey. Orange peel on a barbecue.

Without water, on the palate I get a charcoaled honey-orange glaze taste. Quite a rich mouthfeel but there is a bitterness particularly on the finish.

So a few drops of water added.....

Nosing it now, it is much sweeter. The orange now dominates straight away, but now it's more like orange flavoured boiled sweets. The smoke and saltiness slowly re-emerge after a few mins. A hint of ripe black and red berries too. The bottle doesn't say but this might have had some sherry-influence, particularly looking at the colour.

Don't notice the orange on the palate so much now - it's more like a complex fruit salad wafted through barbecue smoke and sprinkled with salt. Unlike the nose, it's not particularly sweet overall. But the bitterness has definitely reduced. Classic Bowmore cigar smoke nasal waft on the finish.

This needs time in the glass, (I generally find Bowmore more than any malt needs time to breathe) but those patient enough will be rewarded with a fine malt with all the great Bowmore characteristics.

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