The Bowmore distillery has been owned by Stanley P. Morrison Ltd. since its reopening in 1963. While the fires from 1963 initially have an almost unique tropical fruitiness, this flavor profile changed massively in the 1980s. The New Spirit lost large parts of its outstanding fruitiness, moved more and more in the floral direction, heavy flowers and plant notes, especially violets dominate (many) barrel from these years. In the fan base, which at the time was connected via the internet, fortunately for the distillery, but not yet via social media, it seethed, and violently. The new Brennereistil gets the derogatory predicate 'French Whore Perfume', short 'FWP' missed. What happened? The wild speculations ranged from massive shortening of the fermentation times on the changes in the equipment used or yeast strains to the combination of all these elements and other 'conspiracy theories'. Finally, the topic has never been clarified, even the otherwise so open and eloquent Jim McEwen, since 1984 until the year 2000 as a Distillery Manager in a very responsible role at Bowmore active, is on this issue surprisingly short and tight lipped. Until the mid-1990s, the story was then in the flavor sometime off the table. Although the profile has never regained the old fruitiness of the 1960 / 1970s, but at least the difficult FWP notes were gone, fortunately. Eye / nose Visually a strong, brownish tone. Nice to look at. At first very reserved in the nose, almost closed. Excellent! Why great? Well, definitely no trace of FWP. First impression - a mixture of oily looking smoke, pleasant freshness, still unspecific fruit sweetness and a little alcohol. It's great fun and gets more intense the longer I go away. palate Great, warm, soft mouthfeel - yet strong on the tongue. I would not have appreciated a whopping 50.4% ABV. A very nice, strong taste with subjectively less smoke influence than in the nose. Fascinating, the wavy evolution of the fruit in the mouth. If I notice tangerines at the tip of the tongue, this association develops slowly and in the transition to the finish to the juice of a ripe, slightly acidic passion fruit maruja, as you know it. Is that wonderful. As if you had given a few liters of passion fruit juice in the Vattingtank. A very decided, clear fruit note, which is rarely found today. Water may help one or the other to sort the flavors, I find that if one leaves the malt in the mouth space, it is, as so often, dispensable. Finish / Conclusion Long warm finish. A very fine oil film remains felt in the mouth, which breaks only very slowly. And creates a seamless transition between taste and aftertaste. The remaining sweetness is reminiscent of a dark forest honey and gets a herbale undertone. In addition, leathery notes, a little lime and, almost omnipresent, the fresh-fruity finish of the ripe passion fruit. Absolutely flawless creation that brings the old times to life. That's how Bowmore used to be. Hats off! Absolutely successful. This is really big cinema. More notes and reviews on Facebook at #Maltkanzlei

This year's bottling of Pit and his team is again marked by a legendary Islay distillery. Were the last two bottlings Ardbegs, so it takes us this year in the Bowmore Distillery. Bottlings were mated to various vintages, mainly from the mid-90s, the youngest vintage is from 1964. The goal was again to generate a dirty old-school malt. 75% comes from various sherrycasks, the rest from ex-bourbon casks. The whole thing was then ripened in refill sherry and rumcasks to harmonize and calm the whisky. So, enough talked about, starting with the whisky, which has been scented the room for 30 minutes, the olfactory bulbs: a soothing freshness fills the nose, like a walk through a wet wall of needles in the misty late autumn before the first snow. Wet tree bark and moss. Behind it are maritime influences, salinity and iodine. Honey. Incredibly complex, more complex than the fantastic Crois Chill Daltains, this Bowmore is constantly changing in the glass, is still a bit restless despite the 30 min rest period, yet so simple and so clear. This gentle, clear freshness always stays there. Sherry influences show in charming fruit notes of sour cherries and mango, very different to the classic sweet wine association full of raisins. Here is some anise, some walnut and yes, of course, the Bowmorerauch, discreet and appropriate. And in the background you may also be able to guess light violet and perfume notes. Everything is in steady state, everything is beautiful, everything is harmonious and funky complex, but the autumn freshness stands as a dormant complex that holds everything together. No alcohol that bites me. I want to lose myself in this forever, and I smell a little further .... and on ... The taste is wonderfully creamy and surprisingly vanilla with a beautiful spicy wood. Here is some cinnamon, as light fruit and menthol freshness. The mouth is flooded with light smoke and the tip of the tongue is ashen-dry. Nothing bites here, nothing beats me: the 50.4% are the perfect drinking strength with farmonisch bound alcohol. Ester and phenol notes as well as iodine. Maritime saltiness paired with caramel goes into a medium-long finish, saltiness and maltiness remains at the tip of the tongue, slowly the mouth dries out, becomes slightly bitter and one longs for the next sip, and the next, and the next ... yes one you can not deny him some sweetness either. What more does the whisky heart want? Ok, yes, I admit, I'm Bowmorefan, but this whisky is just awesome without end. When I first tried it, I spontaneously gave him temporary 95 points; Back then, I did not make any notes in the blink of an eye, just enjoyed it - now I could finally take my time. For me, this whisky offers an incredibly nice combination of aromas, the nose is in principle perfect for me. Also in terms of flavor and finish, the filling convinces me on the whole line, so that I upgrade today to 96 points.

A great Whisky again. I was lucky to taste it one year ago before finishing and i must say it got again a lot better and rounder. Made me feel like drinking an old 60ies, 70ies Bottling but it also has this wonderful freshness and liveliness. Perfect Sherry balance and quality.

Undisclosed Bowmore of different vintage, some dating back to the 1960s

From the slowdrink website:

very long-matured CV-filling (curriculum vitae) in the best sense: composed of different top-vintages of Pit, mainly from the 'Mid-1990s' and older vintages until 1964 (only 15 ingenious 1960s bottlings (!!!), 12 Bottles 1970s fabric, a few outstanding, unflattering '1980s and many diverse top single-Casks)

mostly from the best sherry casks (75%: refill and first fill, also Fino shares), with expressive ex-bourbon hogshead shares for a balanced and complex character.

It’s really a Nice Bowmore, but very very overrated here, and really don’t worth the money they pay for NOW (600+)
But i’m glad i was able to drink !

Bowmore - 2018 - Reg, Sailing Seagull, Club Bot. N ° 12, Vatting 60s-90s, refill sherry-rum finish - 50.4%
Colour:
Old gold / amber
Nose:
A complex nose builds up slowly but surely. First impression; flowery and leathery, backed by a fine, oily spiciness and slightly sour elderberry. Then hints of tropical fruits and fine peaty smoke. Slightly salty sparkling with creamy honey aromas and now with black, ripe elderberry. Afterwards the dark fruits with plum leading into the foreground and maritime aromas of salt, sea air, algae and black pepper are added. The next stage is already waiting and it gets fresher; Mint and a touch of eucalyptus develops in the glass - what a chameleon! But we still have not reached the rear; the fruit comes back with slightly earthy and dull notes of autumn leaves and moss. We did not have such a nose yet, here the complexity is re-dimensioned. Class!
Taste:
Fresh and spicy with mint, eucalyptus, fine herbs, salt and black pepper. A little elder and soft orange but otherwise the fruit content is slightly covered. The smoke becomes more intense and sweeter. Sherry and creamy honey are on the palate, the wood also fits great and combines wonderfully with notes of Earl Gray tea.
Finish:
Medium long - but here "something" unspectacular. Tea, liquid honey, herbaceous herbs, mint, wood and a fine, soft spice lie on. Towards the end with dark coal smoke, leather and a filigree dark fruit note.
Comment:
The attempt to merge a Vatting from Malts of 4 decades, we think more than succeeded - hat off pit, what a nice club gift!
92 points
N: 93P / G: 92P / F: 91P

Scoring 2 cl when it came out, I already knew this was an extraordinary malt. It was neat and I was kinda sad when the sample was gone.

Prices for this insane beast are over the top so I consider myself very f***ing lucky to attend a whisky evening where one bottle was opened up. Following some earlier tips from when it came out, we cooled it down a bit and spend quite some time with our drams while it warmed up.
I believe I spend around 60m with this and splitting my dram into 3 equally large sips.

93 and by this on my "gonna look for you" unicorn list.

Stop writing this reviews , i had to buy 2 bottles now !

From a newly opened bottle. The most mint I've ever had in the nose. Very refreshing! The palate is totally different, very engaging and delightful, smooth yet dense, and full of dark fruits and a touch of chocolate. Good length in the finish. A very interesting dram that changes from sip to sip. I have a sample that I will try at a much later time, and I am willing to bet my experience will be different again.

Good things will take a while so I took the advice of (Pit) P. Krause to heart.
So let him stand in the glass for an hour.

Now to the nose:
Immediately I get beautiful rum notes in the nose. It goes on to candied fruit such as oranges and peach also joins a hint of star fruit with its delicate bitter and sour notes. Then he gets a little sweeter, as it seems the sherry share is noticeable. Finally he gets a little dustier in the nose. Reminds me of old attic and old furniture but without polish.
That will probably be the smoke that wants to present itself here.

Enough time on the nose now I want to try it.

In the mouth:
Oh yes he still has power despite only 50.4%.
But what's up?
The full broadside tropical fruits ala mango, papaya, pineapple. He looks pretty oily in the mouth and again the sherry winks briefly with. The whole is delicately caressed by a breeze of smoke.
When the tropics say goodbye, a bit of apricot jam and some forest honey are paired with a hint of dark chocolate.

The finish is medium to long.

Conclusion:
A damn good whisky. Here you can see what a pure single cask could never do.
Such a harmony is rarely found in the glass.
He needs time, but he also gives it more than worthy to the connoisseur!
Thank you Pit for this beautiful creation.

Even with this excellent distillate, everything has already been said in the comments so far.
This whisky caused goose bumps all over my body when I smelled it. So far this has only happened at the Bowmore 1963 Anniversary and the Volxwhisky.
Thanks to Pit and his team, keep up the good work and give the world exceptional distillates at really great prices.

Incredibly complex whisky that needs the better part of an evening to be fully enjoyed. It develops in the glass over a long period and is best enjoyed slightly chilled.

Smell ---------------------- 92
taste--------------------92
End rhyme--------------------91

Bewertung von www.whiskyfun.com

Bowmore 'Sailing Seagull' (50.4, Regensburger Whisky Club, 2018) Five stars
A multi-decade vatting of 1960s to 2000s Bowmore done a few years back by our friends in Germany. This should be rather fascinating, as long as the 1980s do not dominate this composition; we understand each other, do we not. Colour: bronze gold. Nose: of course you're a little lost at first, as pink bananas and guavas mixed with brine and coal tar is not a very common combination. I would say the tropical fruits do seem to have the upper hand, which would suggest that the older component in there does not consist in 'only a few drops', as any official entity would have done. No? Now it remains a tad quiet, let's see… With (a little) water: smoky plastics, bananas flambéed, ashes and old coat in a rainy country. It took off! Mouth (neat): some sherry, roasted nuts, bulldog sauce, Marmite, certainly some Maggi blended with cough syrup, indeed coal tar, snuff, onion soup, cigar smoke, beef jerky, quite a lot of tar liqueur, beech ashes… The mouthfeel is rather creamy. Some bittersweet notes in the background (drier cream sherry, drier amoroso). With water: add only a few drops or it would pull a apart a wee bit. Otherwise it becomes very complex, on many kinds of bitters and herbal liqueurs, tobacco, oyster sauce… Finish: long and even drier. A very old sweet wine that's digested all its sugars, as we say. Sauternes – indeed with some botrytis. Bone dry. Comments: forgot to say, I rather love this one. Most probably not only the result of chance. Next, a perfect vatting of Brora and Clynelish. Game?
SGP:275 - 91 points.

David Bowie

It’s a public secret that this Sailing Seagull from the Regensburger Whisky & Weinclub in Germany is actually Bowmore. It was bottled in 2018 as private clubbottling and vatted from sherry, bourbon and rum casks that were filled with the Bowmore spirit. When bottled in 2018, it sold out immediately. With good reason! There is a great homage to David Bowie on the stopper and neck label by the way. I got to taste the whisky at an exclusive tasting with Michiel Wigman and Jeroen Koetsier.

Very aromatic nose on caramel, molded wood, milk chocolate and blackberries. At the same time, I also get some vanilla, oranges and cherries and even some wine vinegar. As soft smokiness and subtle notes of peat. Very nice.

Nicely oily and fruity on the palate. Spicy as well, with all kinds of woodspices. The fruit translates into orange marmalade, plums and raisins, but then the typical floral and almost soapy notes arrive that you would associate with Bowmore from the 1980s. Mildly dyring with a weird, but satisfying note of lavender. Rose water, peach and maraschino cherries lead the charge. The smoke never becomes grand, but that’s quite alright.

The finish is long, spicy, sweet and drying.

Legendary stuff. This will be one long remembered. I don’t have a clue as to the link with David Bowie, though.

Nice sherry bomb, but lacks a bit of delicacy

My full review (german https://keinehalbendrinks.de/2020/07/07/bowmore-in-serie/) is perhaps it is just a pointless list of aromas and tastes, but perhaps this is also the most complex and multi-layered whisky of all. And as good as that is, yeah I'm not sure if this is a composition.Crazy stuff. I wonder what the single casks were like?

A bit like drinking tobacco, very nice

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