Bowmore 12 Year Old

Bowmore Single Islay Malt
12 Years Old
$40

This is the second Islay malt I have tried after finishing my bottle of Laphroaig 10 that I wrote about on this site's first entry. Bowmore is a distillery that dates back to 1779 (so claims the brand's marketing). It is one of the oldest in Scotland, and makes a range of bottlings including the 12 that I am going to taste tonight.

Nose: Smoke and citrus. Orange zest is the most noticeable scent in this aside from the expected peat smoke. The whisky has a light and airy nose, with a definite sea character in addition to this lemony-orange smell.

Palate: Dry, not very sweet. Cool and light rather than warming and dark. The oak characteristics are in the background to the peat and malt flavors on this one, and the citrus element is definitely still there. Finish is where the smoke really comes out, with kind of a chocolatey tobacco aftertaste.

The nose and the taste of this whisky are very much aligned. I don't get any elements in the nose that I don't taste in the whisky. The sweetness of spending 12 years in oak casks is not as pronounced as I might expect, but that gives more weight to the citrusy, smoky flavors in this dram. My friend Andrew's favorite whisky, and the one that got him into... bourbon.

I've been really impressed so far with the different nature of every single dram I've tried so far on my foray into the whisky world. This doesn't have any of the sweetness of Talisker or Highland Park, or the medicinal aftertaste of Laphroaig, or the buttery smoothness of the blends I've tried. I'm really beginning to see why people get so into whisky — every sample gives something a little new with different nuances to appreciate. I really like the light, smoky character of this whisky, and it hits the spot with the warm summer weather we're currently having. I think this is a dram to sit outside with on a warm evening with friends. I plan to put this bottle to that use this weekend.