Bowmore 9

Review by: The Muskox

Bowmore is easily the most polarized Islay distillery for me. The good ones, mostly independent bottlings, are among my favourite whiskies ever. The bad ones, usually the official bottlings, tend to completely lack the floral and tropical notes that Bowmore so famously produces. In their place tend to be heavy flavours of burnt caramel and tar. I have no idea how the blenders there manage to cock things up so badly with their own whisky.

This bottling was added to Bowmore’s permanent range last year.

Distillery: Bowmore.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 40%.

Age: 9 years.

Cask type: Bourbon casks and European oak sherry butts.

Price: $59 CAD locally.

Color: Colour added. Chill-filtered.

Nose: Very light, though I have to admit I’m nosing under less-than-ideal glass circumstances. Maybe take the intensity here with a grain of salt. Speaking of which, there’s gentle coastal smoke and parched driftwood, but they’re in the background. Up front is light honey, maple, muscat grape, strawberries, and cloudberries

Palate: Very light body. Arrives salty and fruity, with intense nectarine, orange, and more grape. It stays light through the development, with pine bough and birch bark smoke. Gentle oak and white chocolate. Over the course of the glass, that muscat grape note gets stronger and stronger.

Finish: Medium-length and quite sweet, with barely any smoke, and- hold on, that’s lavender! And maybe even some passionfruit!! Honey and pink lemonade.

Conclusion: Oooo, there are tantalizing shades of good whisky in here. This is the most lavender I’ve ever picked up from an OB Bowmore. The tropical fruit is nearly there, maybe it just needs a bit more age? The passionfruit was really just nectarine with aspirations… Overall, it’s still not a great whisky. It’s super light and that muscat grape flavour starts to overpower the other notes over time. But this is the most IB-like OB Bowmore I’ve tried yet. I choose to remain hopeful that they’re getting closer.

Final Score: 75.

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.

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