The early to late 90's at Bowmore were a time for rejuvenation after a time period in the 80's where the distillery's profile was a bit wonky, to be kind. Purposely geared towards a more floral spirit by ownership (we'll save the FWP talk for another day), the 90's were a time to re-shift and a establish a more consistent character, reminiscent of old. While we all know this starts with your distillate, no one knew this better perhaps than their Distillery Manager at that time, Jim McEwan. Although Jim's connection to Bruichladdich is often the more notable accomplishment, not enough can be said about the latter part of his career at Bowmore, in which he was able to bring back the tropical smoke style which was so beloved from those 60's distillates.
Bowmore (Douglas Laing)
1992/15 Year |The Old Malt Cask| Refill Hogshead DL 3972 50%
Appearance: Refill gold…Amber
First Whiff: Lemon/banana sweet tarts candy.
Nose: : Mossy, green peat starts us off with sweet/sour citrus…citron in the front, lemon-lime. Lychee fruit follows, pears, ripe banana, sour kiwis…nice mix between citrus/tropical.
Palate: Juicy fruits. Borderline oily, but more on the chewier side. Nice balance. Classic Bowmore, really…mixed fruits and subtle peat. Ripe green bananas, tart lemon-lime and vanilla crème, with a farmy…wet hay bitterness on the backend.
Finish: : Short-medium…blame the water reduction mostly. Uncommonly warm on the backend…but overall, a well balanced, easy drinker.
Summary: Pretty straightforward, like most of the Old Malt Cask range. Quite simple but not singular. Nice balance of fruits between the younger citrus style and the older tropical side.
IDS SCORE: 87
Bowmore (SMWS 3.175)
1994/16 Year |On the dunes - watching a puffer| Refill Ex-Sherry Butt 56%
Appearance: Burnt amber
First Whiff: Charcoal cooked fish.
Nose: Warm, cooked coal briquettes and lapsang souchong tea. Fresh tobacco, Some sour citrus and salinity...grapefruits, seashells. Warm caramel rounds it out.
Palate: Juicy-fat…let’s leave it at that. Burnt wood, cedar unbalance to start. Wonderfully warming and chewy tropical side now…cooked guava, fresh papaya. Backbone of citrus though…bitter citrus (lemons/grapefruits) overtaking the sweeter side…kumquats basically.
Finish: Warming unbalance at the end. Gingery-bubble gum, for sure…as mentioned by the vampirical Whiskybase user.
Summary: There's some tired cask vibes here…but that's just a guess, of course. Some beautiful parts to start but just never really came together. Major points for that wonderful, chewy mouthfeel.
IDS SCORE: 86
90's Bowmore Duo
