This Bowmore 18 Year Old replaced the 17 year old, which was phased out a few years ago. Mind that there is a different version, also 18 years old but with a subtitle “deep and complex”, only available in travel retail.
Bowmore 18 yo (43%, OB +/- 2018)
Bowmore 18 yo (43%, OB +/- 2018)Nose: nice combination of dried seaweed and tobacco with chocolate and (overripe) blood oranges. Toffee caramel. Blackberries and cassis. Hints of rubber as well, but they disappear after a while. Gentle peat. Hints of burnt pineapple.
Mouth: quite sweet and fruity, but I find it a little thin nonetheless. Lots of dark berries again, grapes, caramel and plum jam. I can still feel a floral hint of violets, I though that period was now entirely behind us. Then more chocolate and light peat smoke. Tobacco leaves and a bittersweet finale on Seville oranges.
Finish: long, still quite intensely bittersweet, with some oak and marmalade.
I’m not totally convinced by this one, the floral touches and the bitter edge make it less to my liking, but it’s definitely improving compared to a couple of years ago. Available from Master of Malt or The Whisky Exchange, among others.
Score: 86/100