REVIEW: Bowmore 12 Year Old

Name: Bowmore

Age: 12 years old

Type: Single Malt

Colour: Warm Amber

Origin: Islay, Scotland

ABV: 40%

Ave Price: £30/70cl (cheapest £26 at Tesco 16/2/19)

My Rating: 3.5/5

Coming from the first distillery to be licensed in the Islay region, which started out in 1779, the Bowmore 12 year is a very approachable, medium-peated whisky. I really liked my introduction to this one. It is very balanced in its flavours, nothing too rich or too smoky but enough to give it plenty of body and taste.

Bowmore 12 Year Old was awarded Silver for a Single Malt Islay in the 2017 International Wine & Spirit Competition.

TASTING NOTES

Initial Nose

A lovely blend of smoke and fresh lemon, not to be mistaken for the citric notes that you get in some whiskies. This lemon scent is much more defined and far nicer in my opinion compared to the general ‘citric’ flavours which tends to be more acidic. The lemon could stand out more because of the other notes that accompany it here: honey, heather, malt and peat, rather than being mixed in with grassy, floral notes I’ve experienced in others. Although it’s more likely that lemon scent is just much more appealing. It’s the first time I’ve picked out Lemon notes in a whisky.

Not to dwell on the lemon too much, as mentioned earlier, this is complemented by other flavours and a smokiness that sits well without being overpowering.

Taste

The main flavours that come through are honey and the light smoke. It’s a simple whisky but not an uninteresting one; it has a great taste.

With a drop of water this smokiness is diluted a lot, revealing a smoother medium lasting finish with a light spice at the back.

I must say, I prefer this whisky completely straight to maintain the smoky notes. At least, I do today. Particularly after looking for something less sweet and a bit more smoky lately, this has come at the perfect time in my whisky exploration.

With water it is a very easy whisky on the palette. Even with a single drop of water the smoke has lifted and there’s a fresh taste due to the lemon and light honey. It tastes like a ‘Cold Toddy’.

Bowmore 12 does compare do my one of my favourites, Benromach 10 Year Old, but strangely B10 carries more smoke despite it being a Speyside and Bowmore is an Islay! How can that be? Further research needed on that. All I know so far is Speyside ‘dropped’ the peaty, smoky notes around the 1960s.

I do like Bowmore 12 though. Definitely one to drink again.

The Bowmore distillery is home to the oldest Scotch whisky maturation space in the world and even has the only maturation warehouse , the No1 Vaults, that can be found below sea level!