Released in partnership with Aston Martin, this eighteen-year-old Bowmore is the third edition of its kind. Aged in a combination of Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks.
Appearance: Dark auburn, very autumnal and inviting colour. Many thick legs seep down from the thick tide mark. A good sticky film envelopes the inside of the glass.
Nose: A gentle ethanol hum. An ashy meaty BBQ smoke, like trying to get the last of the heat to cook a good steak. Rich reduced dark fruits, candied blackberries and a sprig of mint. The nose gets more and more jammy as it matures, rich and sugary sweet. ‘Cook and caramelise a steak on a BBQ and smear it with jam’ type of dram
Palate: A semi-viscous mouthfeel with initial notes of caramel, reduced berries and butter-salted popcorn. Some gentle black pepper, some oak barrel char and a touch tannic. Campfire strong black coffee. There’s a slightly ‘light’ edge to the palate, a little spring water-like.
Finish: The coffee, oak and blackberries linger for a short to medium amount of time. That wispy smoke remains for a short while too. Ever-so-slight drying.
Overall: It’s a decent enough whisky, but, for the price, it NEEDS to be CS (certainly more than 43%). It doesn’t feel luxurious or special to me.
