Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection Bowmore 2000 Aged 14 Years

I happen to have three bottles of cask strength Bowmore kicking around (though two don't belong to me, so I have to return them!), so let's tackle these all at once.

This one is a Signatory bottling, exclusively for the UK's The Whisky Exchange online retailer. Distilled March 28 2000, it slumbered for 14 years in bourbon barrel #800093, yielding 233 bottles on Sept 24 2014. It is non-coloured. This sample was provided by Pamela Singh.

The nose is surprisingly light on the peat. Mango, papaya, a hint of butterscotch and vanilla custard. A little shy, you wouldn't know this is over 50% ABV. Hint of butterscotch. Baked brie, if you can believe it? That fresh sea-breeze we know Bowmore commands is definitely there. The tropical fruits run the show here, though. Water simply dampens things. Still, very charming.

On the palate the peat takes stronger form, with indeterminate herbs, toffee, more papaya, kumquat, chili (more so with water) and pork crackling. Extremely complex, extraordinary. The nose only hinted at this deliciousness.

The finish is prickly with damp campfire, orange pith and cayenne pepper. Hard to believe this is cask strength, it's so smooth and easy to drink. Very enjoyable but nothing that really pops for me; let's keep it in the glass while we do the other two, to see what how it reacts to time. Jim Murray scored this a generous 91.5.

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