And on the way back toward Madison I stopped at Elm Grove liquors and they
> just got in piles of Bowmore 12 at $24.99. That isn't as good as the
> $19.99 Chicago price--but it's still a very unexpected bargain. And they
> also had Darkest, Surf, and other funny named Bowmores at heavily discounted
> prices--but I don't trust those murkier labels yet.
When I got into malts a few years ago and found this news group, Bowmore was at the height of its FWP period and I took the advice of the, uhm, self-styled malt connoisseurs who posted here then. I did almost no exploring of Bowmore selections.
Now it appears that the perfume is on the way out, but I have little idea which Bowmore offerings are still risky, and which ones are dependably FWP-free.
I have had several McClelland's baby Bowmores in the past year, and they seem to be consistently without perfume now. But the last 12 I had, maybe a year and a half ago, was kind of foul. Is it okay now? How's the cask-strength? What else do people recommend among current Bowmores? Tasting notes or brief descriptions more than welcome.
I got happily surprised about a year ago when I picked up the Legend and it was clean. Then this past April at duty-free in London they had samples of the 12 open--and it was FWP free too! Unfortunately it was expensive.
But on the way back from Europe I stopped in at Milroy's of Soho and they had a Murray Mc David Bowmore open for sampling (distilled 1989; bottled
2000) and it was very nice. So I bought that one.
Then yesterday in Milwaukee I told the manager of the store that I was buying a bottle of Bowmore 12--and asked that after I purchased it, whether I could then sample it, and if it was untainted, I would then buy more of it (a malt loving friend had his 50th birthday party that evening). The manager told me that I would not be able to sample the whisky in his store. I pointed over to the sampling table of wines, and he responded that it was legal to sample wines, but not spirits, in the liquor store. I told him that I didn't want to go into my CAR and sample it (there was a police car in the parking lot as I was driving up!), but wanted to try it before I drove home, 90 minutes away. He said I should stand OUTside the car and sample the whisky--that this was completely legal--and then added that I should put the whisky in the trunk so that I would not have an "open container" of alcohol accessible in the car when I was driving home.
So I went out, opened the hatch, opened the Bowmore, poured it into the tiny wine sampling glass they had given me, sealed it back up, put it in the hatch and covered it with a blanket, took a sip, walked back into the store, and bought more Bowmore.
This Bowmore 12 is the stuff of enchantment. It has just the slightest spirity edge at first, and it is not as thundersome, peat-wise, as Ardbeg
10, but once the peat starts coming on, and the whisky settles onto the palate, it is pretty, it is smooth, and the peat is all maple, tar, smoke, and flowers--and it keeps building and shifting. It is gentle and smoothly rich--but still rolling and dynamic like a wave building before it spreads out onto the shore with a satisfying rush and shimmer. The finish is not terribly long--but the glass is not terribly far away--and the Bowmores I bought in the 1980's got better the longer they sat open--the peat gulp got richer and longer. And this Bowmore 12 tastes exactly like the Bowmore 12 I bought back then.
I still have samples from Bowmore 12 purchased in the mid-80's (distilled early '70's?) as well as Bowmore 12 purchased during the FWP phase that made me gag--and sometime I'll open them all up and taste them side-by-side with this one and the Murray McDavid--though my guess is that this one is even a touch better than 70's one--I had a split of that one about a year or so back, and it was rougher than this one.
I'm still a bit leery of buying a 17 though.
I'll also go and buy a Darkest, Mariner, and Surf at $29.99 apiece if all of you will pony up.
I agree with Brett about the recommendation for the 17yo. Out of the widely available standard Bowmores it has long been my favorite. It's not at all a peat monster - it's all about complexity and balance. And it's hard to think of a more tightly knotted complex of flavors than the Bowmore 17 offers. It costs a bit more than the twelve, but (at least compared to other similarly aged OB's on the local shelves) it's still reasonably priced. And very enjoyable.
In your honor, I opened up a 175ml bottle of the Murray McDavid Bowmore (distilled 1989; bottled 2000; 46%). Here's the side-by-side with the newly purchased Bowmore 12 (40%) distillery bottling:
MMD: white straw color; but thick and viscous--has 'legs' on the glass; B 12: maple brown color; less viscous; more like peaty river water;
MMD: sweet and thick; goes quickly to the nose; peat starts bursting right away; long peaty palate; B 12: starts light and easy on the palate; peat builds more slowly then undulates mildly; thinner mouthfeel;
MMD: bold peat nose is full and potent; lots of flowery sweetness there too; a bit unidimensional, but the dimension is immensely enjoyable; B 12: mild maple caramel palate predominates more; pleasant peat notes add dimension--but it's a lighter, milder dram than the MMD;
MMD: big potent nose leads to long, echoing finish of flowers, autumn leaves, oak, and fresh-cooked tar just spread on the asphalt; lingers brightly; B 12: finish has the slightest mild notes of burnt maple, and little peat bursts, but you have to fight to keep it alive.
IN SUM: the MMD has far more sweetness, and is also more potent in essences that go right to the nose, and then dapple themselves in a delightful bright-complex peat flavorfall to a satisfying finish; it is a bursting, dense, classy dram with a full spring/summer flower-garden character--definitely worth the $38 U.S. it cost. The Bowmore 12, on the other hand (and it is a VERY OTHER hand) is a lighter, invigorating little number that delivers pleasantly modulating peat to the palate on a more river-running frame with overtones that are more enchantingly maply and autumnal (but you have to work a bit harder to be struck with it's character--you have to sip in more of it, and then slap it around the palate--which brings wonderful results, but is OFTEN the problem with 40% whisky). Definitely worth the $24.99 it cost.
Thanks. It seems so obvious now. Why didn't I see it before? If I remember correctly he penned an article I enjoyed in the Malt Advocate while he was still at Bowmore. And if it's his fingerprints on the varied bottlings coming from Bruichladdich these days he's doing a fine job.
Bushido's theory would seem to apply to my recent Bowmore experiences as well. I just had a Mariner 15yo the other day and it was absolutely fantastic, light years away from where this whisky was when I last tasted it about 1.5 years ago. The 12yo is also right on the money and I picked up a half bottle recently. However the 17yo I got 1.5 ago isn't what it should be, no FWP but nothing to pique the tastebuds and as Bushido pointed out, this has always been the charm in the B'more collection.
Bill, since you're also in Canada I would say to go ahead and gamble some money on the Mariner 15yo or the 12yo.
I'll be spending Christmas in Calgary, and that might be a good time to do the deed. Malt prices, last I looked, were still 30-40 per cent lower in Alberta than in B.C.
Am I glad to hear that. I just bought two bottles of it, untasted, to give as Christmas gifts, based on the recommendation of George Islay MacNeill Robertson.
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