Islay is a holy grail for me and my girlfriend. She likes whisky (I know...lucky me !!!). So going for themed Bowmore tasting we knew more or less what to expect. Tempest (10 yo), 12, 15, 18 and 25 yo whiskys were lined up. The host usually is Darren, who manages the shop, but yesterday we had a pal from the distillery. Nice pal with a lot of stories. If you are going to visit distilleries, get prepared for this :) Pint or two before does the job. And prepares your pallet (nb - this is author's opinion. You do not have to agree :).
We started with 10 yo which was a good aperitif. Give some time to warm it up and let breath a bit. IT was quite smoky and i'd say peppery. . But strong ! Hey, its 56 % in alcohol. A bit of water does the job and makes it more enjoyable. The bourbon cask maturation allows hints of citrus and some honey to come through. Good whisky for a start.
12 yo Bowmore. I thought 2 years isn't a lot. But it does the difference.
This one is well balanced fruit notes have more expression here and it is enough peated I have to admit. The pal from the distillery claimed this one to be one of his favourites. Good ! Then you don't have to rob a bank to indulge yourself ;). It is a good whisky to move and to experience what matters 2 years in maturation.
I thought (and still think) ale is a good companion for a dram. And here you are- we've been offered some dark chocolate. With a dram !!! Call me being quite conservative, but I was surprised. It works together with 15 yo Bowmore quite nice I have to admit. The whisky is smoky, but has a great balance with some dried fruit and chocolate notes. Its been matured for 12 years + another 3 in a sherry cask. If you like sherry - you surely can go for this one. A nice warming dram with some sherry hints will be a perfect treat for my coldish evenings (I'll get some chocolate for that as well).
What a surprise - now we got some cheese (I recon its cheddar). And we progress to 18yo whisky. Now there is a difference from where we started. 10 yo was quite smoky. 18 yo has just some smoke aromas but you can also feel some creamy caramel with ripe fruit. Yummy...On the palate its quite complex with light smokiness and terrific fruit and chocolate. Remember cheese? For me it did work very well here.
Now we had listen lots of different stories about whisky and Islay. To be honest, now I am waiting for another one. 25yo. and here it comes with another cheese. yes. Blue cheese. Somehow we moved from chocolate to quite salty one. Incredible. As well as Bowmore. Every single year has a different expression and you start thinking about when you would like to drink one or another dram....ok so here it is 25 years old. Suite intense sherry with some smokiness on the nose. On the pallet it has a nice marriage of some toffee and maybe hazelnut. Even a smell of fresh timber and a bit of peat smoke. Cheese, no not for me this time. For me it was too salty. Next time I would try another - less rich blue cheese.
So there we are. Bowmore night is about to finish. We have spent almost 3 hours chatting and enjoying whiskies with some interesting supplement. The winner of the night? 18 yo for me.
Oh, and what a surprise !! remember the lad form the distillery? He smuggled a bottle for the tasting ( nice !!!).
everyone was pleasantly surprised with what was presented. 44 yo Gold !! Long story short. If you will have a chance - try it. It is very unusual. Explosion of exotic fruits with some vanilla and very light smoke on the palate. It reminds me of having a nice slice of fresh guava with a bit of white pepper on it. Nice finish for the night. Now its a must to have Black and White.
as always after the tasting we with fellow whisky lovers go for a pint to wash the palates and have a chat. The Bow bar is just across the road. they usually have nice ales. A pint of No3 from Stewart is just what I needed. It is quite full bodied, but refreshes palate nicely...Not a long night tonight. Tattoo is about to finish and it means that streets will be full of people. Taxi !!!
We started with 10 yo which was a good aperitif. Give some time to warm it up and let breath a bit. IT was quite smoky and i'd say peppery. . But strong ! Hey, its 56 % in alcohol. A bit of water does the job and makes it more enjoyable. The bourbon cask maturation allows hints of citrus and some honey to come through. Good whisky for a start.
12 yo Bowmore. I thought 2 years isn't a lot. But it does the difference.
This one is well balanced fruit notes have more expression here and it is enough peated I have to admit. The pal from the distillery claimed this one to be one of his favourites. Good ! Then you don't have to rob a bank to indulge yourself ;). It is a good whisky to move and to experience what matters 2 years in maturation.
I thought (and still think) ale is a good companion for a dram. And here you are- we've been offered some dark chocolate. With a dram !!! Call me being quite conservative, but I was surprised. It works together with 15 yo Bowmore quite nice I have to admit. The whisky is smoky, but has a great balance with some dried fruit and chocolate notes. Its been matured for 12 years + another 3 in a sherry cask. If you like sherry - you surely can go for this one. A nice warming dram with some sherry hints will be a perfect treat for my coldish evenings (I'll get some chocolate for that as well).
What a surprise - now we got some cheese (I recon its cheddar). And we progress to 18yo whisky. Now there is a difference from where we started. 10 yo was quite smoky. 18 yo has just some smoke aromas but you can also feel some creamy caramel with ripe fruit. Yummy...On the palate its quite complex with light smokiness and terrific fruit and chocolate. Remember cheese? For me it did work very well here.
Now we had listen lots of different stories about whisky and Islay. To be honest, now I am waiting for another one. 25yo. and here it comes with another cheese. yes. Blue cheese. Somehow we moved from chocolate to quite salty one. Incredible. As well as Bowmore. Every single year has a different expression and you start thinking about when you would like to drink one or another dram....ok so here it is 25 years old. Suite intense sherry with some smokiness on the nose. On the pallet it has a nice marriage of some toffee and maybe hazelnut. Even a smell of fresh timber and a bit of peat smoke. Cheese, no not for me this time. For me it was too salty. Next time I would try another - less rich blue cheese.
So there we are. Bowmore night is about to finish. We have spent almost 3 hours chatting and enjoying whiskies with some interesting supplement. The winner of the night? 18 yo for me.
Oh, and what a surprise !! remember the lad form the distillery? He smuggled a bottle for the tasting ( nice !!!).
everyone was pleasantly surprised with what was presented. 44 yo Gold !! Long story short. If you will have a chance - try it. It is very unusual. Explosion of exotic fruits with some vanilla and very light smoke on the palate. It reminds me of having a nice slice of fresh guava with a bit of white pepper on it. Nice finish for the night. Now its a must to have Black and White.
as always after the tasting we with fellow whisky lovers go for a pint to wash the palates and have a chat. The Bow bar is just across the road. they usually have nice ales. A pint of No3 from Stewart is just what I needed. It is quite full bodied, but refreshes palate nicely...Not a long night tonight. Tattoo is about to finish and it means that streets will be full of people. Taxi !!!
Congrats on the blog my friend!!! Great day at the office eh?!
ReplyDeleteMy nightly reading list just got longer:)
Well done and good luck in your tasty adventures!