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Bowmore Cask Strength

Average score from 2 reviews and 12 ratings 87

Bowmore Cask Strength

Product details

  • Brand: Bowmore
  • Bottler: Distillery Bottling
  • ABV: 56.0%

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@PeatyZealot
Bowmore Cask Strength

Again a succesful story at my local liquor store. One whole liter of Cask Strength Bowmore for a very good price. Bought it spontaneously without knowing anything about it.

Nose: Without water it's a bit alcoholic, but not unapproachable. Pipe tobacco smoke, dirty peat, beach foam, yeast, candlewax, fertilizer, resin and raisins, elegant musky sherry wood. I cant really find any Bourbon cask influences. This is by far the dirtiest smelling Bowmore so far for me, which is good:) With water the peaty notes make way for more fruit.

Palate: Without water it's a heavy hitter, but like in the nose not over-overpowering. a Really concentrated, high density flavor profile, bone dry arrival and a feisty alcohol kick is what you get. Is this really a Bowmore? Its pretty brutal I must say. I get baked apples, tobacco, a tiny maple syrup sweetness, bramble juice, cherry wood, dark chocolate, big barley, cinnamon, hot chipotle sauce. With water it gets creamier and more nutty.

Finish: Huge finish, you get the typical Islay peat side of the lips sensation in a bone dry glow. So a lot of medicinal Islay peat, tarry wood, bandaid, iodine, sultana cookies, dark earth, distant oak, soft smoke.

This is one of the most beastly Bowmores I had so far and I already tried a few. Compared to other cask strengthers like the Tempest, 100 degrees proof, this is not so sweet, quite heavily peated and uncompromised, but still very much in a fragile balance. Normally you would go to Bowmore for the less heavy side of Islay, but not with this one, oh no. My guess is it was aged solely on Oloroso casks, but I don't know for sure for how long. Especially considering the price (I paid €40,-) this is a great deal, get it while its there.

@PeatyZealot your review got me fired up. Really want to try this one.

@MaltActivist

I bought a case of this expression almost a year and a half ago at my Malt Society's annual Christmas bash. It was very warmly received thanks to the cold weather and high ABV.

Now I didn't think much of it back then; probably because I was too busy doing other stuff to really take notice. So tonight when I spotted a half-empty bottle at the back of my shelf I decided to pull it out for a swig.

Nose: It doesn't say anything in the official literature but the sherry in this expression is enormous. There is the faintest of peat smoke on thick meat sausage. Followed by an earthy dark sugar sweetness with a handful of clove and gorgeous dried thyme; like crashing headfirst into a sweet spice rack. The aromas are made all that greater by the fine incense smoke that envelopes everything in a shroud of deliciousness.

Palate: Intense dark fruits and bananas sit on a bed of caramel and burnt sugar. The sherry, then, mixes in with screaming spices and woody cured meats. An extremely potent experience.

Finish: Once again the massive spices come through with burnt raisins.

This is a lovely malt which has become even better over time. At least I think it's become better.

I don't think I'd heard of this before your note, PeatyZealot, in the "what did you just buy" thread. So this is CS NAS Bowmore? With some sherry maturation? I could get into that at the right price. The Tempest is always attractive but too expensive ($100), so I could see giving the NAS a whirl.

Oh jee, I just bought this in an impulse, sounds tasty:)

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