Bowmore 12 Year

Nose : Leather, Vegetale, Salty Seabreeze, Smoke Palate: Briny, Smoke, Pepper, Oaky/Woody Vanilla. Light Citrus Finish: Pepper and Smoke Linger. Medium Lenght Adding a little water bring out the Caramel. When to drink: Outside for sure, Late Spring to Late Summer, on a breezy day or on a coolish night by a campfire would be a good time. At the price this is definitely something nice to share with friends that don't often drink peaty Scotch or Scotch in general. Bring a bottle of this to a gathering or on a vacation with good company. Something you can put in a flask as well. Some whiskies are so peaty you can't really have more then two Drams, but this is an easy drinker. A step up for those that like Johnnie Walker Black and want something better. Recommendations for more: If you want something that is similar and richer go for the Bowmore 15, want something both smokier and Richer Lagavulin is the way to go for you. Talisker is also a good idea. If you want something that features Peat way more to the point you can taste the vegetale peat Ardbeg 10 or Laphroaig 10 will be the way to go. You could even try Arbdeg Wee Beastie and Laphroaig Select which are cheaper the 10 year olds I will be coming back for more notes as I drink more of this. Good Value - 84 points so I'll give it 3.5 Stars which is still very good just not something that will make me go wow wow wow. But for the price you can't go wrong. You won't regret purchasing this unless you haaaaaate anything smoky at all. Great way to introduce someone to Islay or Sctoch. Or just to give Islay a second chance if your on a budget. If you have the money and want to give Smoky Islays a second chance go for Bowmore 15 or if you want to gift someone an Introductory Islay and want to make sure they like definitely go for the 15.

I'm generally not a fan of significantly peated whiskies, but I felt I should have one in my collection to enjoy once in a while and use in cocktails. I'd heard good things about Bowmore 12 and it was affordable so I picked it up. Let's see how it is... Nose: Definite significant peat on the nose. Not as much smoke as I had expected however. Leather, seaweed, and sea salt are prominent as well. Maybe some dried fruits like raisins hiding in the background as well. Palate: Initially rich with a briny edge. A nice peppery spiciness emerges providing a pleasant mouthfeel. Leather and a gentle bitter nuttiness is prominent in mid-taste. Finish: Medium to long. The pepper lingers and mingles with the chewy leather flavours. Some cigar smoke adds some dimension here as well. Eventually I'm left only with the briny seaweed notes at the back of the palate. Overall I enjoyed this whisky and I'm certainly happy to have this on my shelf.

Campfire at Sandlake. Happy times

Peaty nose, Campfire finish, well balanced, mild version of laphroig 10