Review by: The Muskox
I’ve been on a bit of a break from whisky for the past couple months – not an entirely voluntary one. A couple work shifts, a vacation, and finally my long-anticipated bout with covid have all conspired to keep me out of my sample cabinet. But now I’m back at home, and after a scary few weeks with no sense of smell, I think my palate has returned!
My friend u/paulusgaming and I celebrated together in Discord by each tasted some very highly-recommended Bowmores. He poured that 16yo Isle Solera, my personal favourite scotch whisky, and I poured this 30yo, which was similarly highly rated by my friend u/zSolaris. This one is bottled by Fox Fitzgerald (of Peat’s Beast fame) under their Mercury’s Selection label for the Taiwanese market.
Distillery: Bowmore.
Bottler: Fox Fitzgerald.
Region: Islay.
ABV: 51.8%, cask strength.
Age: 30 years old. Distilled in 1989. Bottled in 2019.
Cask type: Cask #6121, a bourbon barrel.
Color: Medium gold. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.
Nose: Almost no smoke at first. Intensely floral, but not soapy at all. Peach nectar, pineapple, honey, and a sprinkling of nutmeg. Creamy bourbon-cask notes of vanilla buttercream and white chocolate. Honey. Nutmeg. White chocolate, vanilla, buttercream. The peat intensifies with time in the glass – cool smoke filters in, along with bracing brine. It even gets savory: fennel, sage, and pork fat – sweet Italian sausage.
With a dribble of water, the fruit is more pungent. There’s the watermelon that u/zSolaris found. Honeysuckle and wet soil.
Palate: Silky texture. Briny and cool on the arrival, with wet stones, petrichor, and coal smoke. A hint of soft fruit as the whisky develops, but it’s that creaminess that seems to be in control – white chocolate cheesecake? Fresh ginger, birch bark, then finally pleasant herbal bitterness
Water gives things more dimension. It’s smokier – mineral, a bit ashy, even a bit industrial. A bit of a pork-fattiness again, pancetta. Brighter fruity notes of lychee and St. Germain. Almond nougat emerges after lots of rest.
Finish: Medium-long, more of the same flavour-wise but with a lingering sticky texture. Coal smoke, river rocks, key lime pie, flower petals, and pine sap. Ginger-beer effervescence.
Water intensifies that peaty and industrial side of the dram. Some sesame seeds and lemon drops now, too.
Possible SMWS bottling name: “Lilypad floating in the nuclear waste pond”
Notes: It’s a really excellent whisky, but not quite in my top tier of Bowmores. This feels like it has more in common with that 1991 Hart Bros. Bowmore, with its industrial smoke, mineral, and herbal notes, than the more tropical late 90’s to early 2000’s Bowmores that really get me going. The whisky I kept comparing this to in my head was actually Brora 35, which was in the same ballpark in terms of flavour but to me had a little more magic.
Final Score: 89.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 