Bowmore New Make

My good friend and Bowmore Brand Ambassador Gordon Dundas offered me a sample of Bowmore New Make, knowing that I have a soft spot for new makes. In my opinion, it offers a rare glimpse of things to come, before the wood has had the chance to have any effect on it. So this is, unfortunately, not commercially available. The ABV does not allow you to sip it neat, so after nosing I will add a good dollop of water.

The nose is very light and extremely fruity with hints of cooked fruits, but also cooked vegetables. Reminds me mostly of grappa, the Italian after dinner drop that accompanies many a coffee. Totally not as peated as I would have expected. It is clearly there, but you need to put it down for a few moments to get it. The longer you wait, the more you also get the scent of a horse stable. Wonderful.

On the palate, despite my adding water, it is still hot and malty as well as sweet and sour at the same time. That is probably stating the obvious. The peat is more outspoken, but still not dominating. A lot of earthy notes, too. I truly like this.

The finish keeps going. After this, it is quite useless to try and taste anything else for the rest of the evening.

A beautiful spirit, that does not at all suffer from the lavender that could often be found in the late 80s of last century. Thank you, Gordon, for this opportunity.

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