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.