Scotch Review: Bowmore 18 years Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Sam lived across the street in a Dijon mustard yellow stucco, three-storey walk-up, whose horseshoe arched windows were trimmed in provencal blue paint.  He was about to turn in for the night when he happened to gaze through his bedroom dormer and see a dim light on in Rick’s Café Américain.  He had seen the bar keep, Sacha, snap the lights off when they closed earlier.  With a big sigh, Sam thought a moment, and rather than retire for the evening, headed back downstairs and across the street to the Café.

“Boss, what’s wrong?”

Rick, seated at a table next to the piano, grunted something unintelligible, and stabbed a finger at the iPad that lit up at his touch.  “Why me?  Sam?  Why?,” Rick asked.

Sam glanced at the iPad.  It displayed an email, but before he could read it, Rick continued.  “I got my Heritage Tree DNA results back and their not good . . . I’m a match with Ilsa.”

“A match?”  Sam left school at 16 and played piano full time on a riverboat.  Being a geneticist was not a possibility on the bayou, but Sam had a good idea what Rick was hinting at.

“Yeah, we’re related.”

Sam read the email that contained the DNA test results.  “But, Boss it says you and her shared a common ancestor ten generations ago on your father’s side.”

“We are related.  That’s the end of it.  I been really bad.  C’mon Sam, you know . . . that’s sick.  But, I’ll show them sons a bitches!”  Rick pointed at the bottles lining the back of the mirrored bar.  “Gimme that one!”  Realizing he was bellowing at Sam, he lowered his voice, and whispered “that one.”

Sam had no clue what bottle Rick wanted, but made a random grab anyway, and set a bottle of Bowmore 18 years old single malt down on the table.  Rick was busy tearing open a new DNA test kit, in the semi-darkness of the bar, all the while muttering “I’ll show 'em, I’ll show 'em,” as bubble wrap fell all around him.  He poured the Bowmore into his tumbler, with a Q-tip, he swabbed the inside of the glass, and then dropped it into the specimen container.  Sam sent it out by courier the next day because he feared the use of the local courier service would soon be banned.  This is not outside the realm of possibility thought Sam, given the fact that a Nazi Major Strasser had arrived in town to investigate the recent murder of two German couriers and the disappearance of their precious cargo: Letters of Transit.  But, that's a story for another day.

A month or so later, Rick got a new Y-DNA 37 test result back that said:

Rick Blaine Y-DNA Test (AKA: Bowmore 18yrs Single Malt Scotch Whisky)

Price
Reasonable considering it is an 18 year old single malt Scotch.

ABV

43%

Artificial Color?

Yes.

Chill Filtration?
Yes.

Wood Management

A combination of ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks.

Closure

Cork stopper.

Distribution

Widely available.

Region of Scotland

Islay.

Nose (undiluted)

Fragrant, sherry, light smoke, slight peat, seaweed.  Orange peel, orange chocolate.  Solid oak and malt notes.

Palate (undiluted)

Fruit forward, like a Napa Valley Cabernet, delivering cherries, black grapes, toffee, salted caramel, brown sugar, molasses, which is accented by a light treatment of peat and smoke.

Finish (undiluted)

Good length.  Red wine Bordeaux, bacon, vanilla, raisins, cigar smoke.

General Impressions

The stereotypical Islay single malt Scotch is a peat and smoke blast, and then, well more peat and more smoke with maybe some black pepper for good measure.  Bowmore 18’s DNA contributes to a departure from the aforementioned stereotype.  This Islay malt is sweet, soft, the peat and smoke is delicate, restrained and even muted by the aging in Oloroso sherry casks.  With a rather modest phenolic level of 35 ppm, it’s the sherry notes that dominate the peat and smoke of Islay.  Not the other way around, as one would normally expect of an Islay malt.

Bowmore 12 and 18 are very different malts for this reason.  The 12 is peated, briny and of the sea, so to speak. There can be no doubt of it’s regional origin, Islay.  But, if someone told me in a blind tasting to guess the ancestry of Bowmore 18 I would have thought the Highlands.

Criticisms?  Bowmore 18 takes no chances.  It’s a gentle malt, balanced to the point of being a bit boring/flat if you are into powerhouses with higher ABV’s or seeking complexity.  I really think had this whisky been non-chill filtered and no artificial color, we would be tasting more complexity.  Most 18 year old single malts will wow you in taste and complexity.  Bowmore 18 does not.  Nevertheless, very drinkable and my bottle disappeared quickly as I sampled and pondered it’s lack of nuance.  

So, if you are relatively new to whisky and want to try an inviting, balanced, easygoing single malt with an 18 years age statement, Bowmore 18 fits the bill.  If you consider yourself a serious connoisseur of malts where emphasis is placed upon complexity, power and the glory of single malt, well, you be best to pass on this.   And now, back to the story . . . 

Sam looked over the new DNA test results and said, “Mr. Richard, I don’t see Isla’s name here.  You’re good.  Just some distant relatives Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Port Ellen, whoever she is.”

Rick nodded and said, “I’ll drink to that!”

Whisky Review: Lagavulin 16 years Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

It's a classic that I just had to return to and review once more.

Best,



Jason

Review: Ardbeg 10 Year Old - Single Malt Scotch Review

Bonfire on a Bluff?

Having a glass of Arbeg 10 year old in your living room is like building a bonfire made up of tree branches, scrub brush and peat freshly cut from a Scottish bog, lighting it and watching the smoke swirl upwards as it is carried away by the unpredictable winds of the Isle of Islay, Scotland. The smoke at times will fill your nostrils followed by the peat, charcoal and a whiff of salty sea spray. Ardbeg 10 year old is uncompromising like a lazy wind blowing off the coast of the Isle of Islay. It's so cold and 'lazy' that it feels like it blows through you rather than around you. Such is the experience of a dram of this single malt scotch whisky.

Isle of Islay

Ardbeg is one of eight distilleries on the Isle of Islay, an Island off the coast of Scotland that can have wind, rain and a crashing sea on a regular basis. The geography is rocky, relatively flat, with plenty of bluffs, jagged outcroppings of rock, and cliff faces above a churning white-capped sea below. Whiskies distilled on this island are often very peaty, smokey and kind of like the flavor of a menthol cigarette. Peat actually plays a large role in the smoke flavor of this scotch whisky and the others of the Isle of Islay.

What is Peat?

On the Isle of Islay there are bogs and wetlands with plenty of partially decayed vegetation like scrub brush, tall grass, and other low lying vegetation. It is cut out in blocks and when dried is used to fuel fires to dry the malt used in scotch. The interaction of the smoke from the peat imparts the unique smokey flavor that is termed "peat" or "peaty" when describing scotch whiskies especially from the Isle of Islay.

Suggested Stemware

Glencairn would be best.  Don't have that?  Try a brandy snifter. The bowled shape with the opening at the top traps the aromas to be enjoyed as you nose it. A crystal tumbler doesn't 'trap' the scents of this whisky. Nevertheless, the tumbler is better than nothing and drinking from one will certainly not affect the flavor profile, just not deliver the full bouquet on the nose.

Ice? Water? Neat?

Decisions, decisions, decisions . . . If you are a novice scotch drinker, I would recommend adding an ice cube or two, it will dampen the pronounced peaty flavor profile and take away some of the 'bite.' If you enjoy scotch and consider yourself quite serious about it, I would recommend a teaspoon of distilled or spring water be added to a single or double pour (you will have to experiment to see what works for you).   The water will add a lot of complexity.  I find 'neat' it is just too over the top.

If you are a veteran drinker, well then pony up and get ready to ride this flavor profile like "Seabiscuit."

Nose (undiluted)
Beautifully strong peat, wood smoke and salt air. The aroma of peat is so powerful, that often after having had my drink, washed my glass, returned it to the cupboard, gone to bed, up and off to work, back home, late evening retrieve my glass, and wow! I still smell peat in my glass! And not just any peat, but rather distinctively that of Ardbeg.

Palate (undiluted)
Starts sweet, mid palate fills with damp wood smoke before moving to drying black pepper and more billowing smoke like a big Cohiba. 

Finish (undiluted)
White cheddar to salt to fresh ground black pepper. Slight burn remains on the throat after it is swallowed.

General Impressions
Not what I would call “smooth” scotch if consumed neat. On the other hand, I would not describe it as “rough” either. Instead, I would describe this scotch having a flavor profile that involves an “abrupt” transition from sweet smoke to sharp black pepper and coarse salt. Not a flavor profile that I would describe as "complex" when consumed neat.  You need to add water (ie. teaspoon) to bring out the complexity and magic of this dram.  Really, water is a must!

This single malt enjoys a large following among serious scotch drinkers, and I do understand the fascination. The flavor profile is unique and a very powerful, yet elegant explosion of smoke and peat upon all the senses. You will come back to this whisky again and again, as you analyze its secrets.

Initially, I didn't understand what was all the fuss about this spirit. But that first tasting haunted me. It beckoned me back. The nose of peat and wood smoke, a promise that was fulfilled on the palate was fascinating. I must say I like this, but not my favorite. I like it, but not the way I am obsessed with Cragganmore 12 yr old, a scotch that I systematically bought all remaining bottles where I live upon learning the distributor was cutting my liquor store off.

This is not a mainstream spirit. It is for the scotch connoisseur seeking a very unique flavor. If you are considering purchasing this as a gift for someone, and not knowing their individual tastes, I would recommend choosing another single malt that is more pleasing to the average drinker.

Water really needs to be added to this malt to bring out a more complex display of flavors.  Teaspoon to a double pour I find is just enough.  One must remember that it is bottled at 46% abv.  I find that over 43% many malts benefit from the addition of some water.  Ardbeg 10 is not an exception to such a general rule.

I am surprised by my conclusion on this scotch. I thought I would enjoy it more given all the praise I have read in books and elsewhere online. It's more than ok, but I would not buy it again. I certainly do not agree with the praise rendered by the scotch expert, Jim Murray, who wrote: "Unquestionably the greatest distillery to be found on Earth. If perfection on the palate exists, this is it."

Cheers!

© Jason Debly, 2009-2012. All rights reserved.

Old Pulteney 12 yr old - Single Malt Scotch Review

Much Public Acclaim

I bought a bottle of Old Pulteney 12 yr single malt Scotch tonight because I had read a lot of positive comments about it on a couple of whiskey website forums that I participate on. Moreover, Jim Murray, whisky authority, wrote that this whisky is "unashamedly excellent and deserves so much more recognition around the world." I had to decide for myself whether or not this single malt scotch is deserving of such praise.

Nose (undiluted)
Briny maritime air, restrained sweetness, rainfall, damp evening lakeside air, soft wood smoke, smooth peat.

Palate (undiluted)
Salty taste of the foaming sea, lemon rind, rosewood, a hint of Ocean Spray Cranberry Cocktail, faint oak.

Finish (undiluted)
Short but interesting. Notes of bacon, mackerel, kippers but rhubarb too, ginger and lemon again.

General Impressions

The lasting impression of drinking this is that of sea water. Just not very interesting. Simple in a word. It may be somewhat intriguing for some in terms of this sea salt based flavor profile which finishes with some lemon and a cleansing saline zest.  Not what I would call a complex single malt. This whisky is decent and reminds me of what comes out of Scapa.   Frequently on sale and that is when you want to grab it.

In terms of the praise for this scotch, it is not deserved, and I think Mr. Murray was given to a little hyperbole when he described this whisky as "unashamedly excellent." It's 'good' but not 'excellent.'  The flavors offered up are different than what is encountered in most other single malts, but, as I said above, the problem is that it is not complex and at times one thinks they are just drinking salt water out of the bottom of a beached boat.

P.S.  While I am not a huge fan of this single malt, one of my regular readers is.  Adam's positive review is available by clicking here. 

© Jason Debly, 2009-Present. All rights reserved.