Bowmore 15 Year

On paper this looks good; peat, sherry (ling finnish) and some decent age at a fair price. Let’s see! Nose: First sniff is heavy Islay peat (smoke, and meaty ash). From second sniff and onward the peat becomes more and more subdued by the sherry notes: tones of jam, dried plums and (orange) marmelade. The peat is still there but turns more into smoked sausage or ham than the initial firey notes. A really deep sniff can also reveal some marzipan notes. At times I also picked up an off note unfortunately, remining me of cheap, fat sausage/hotdogs starting to turn bad. It’s managable and becomes less prominent as I drink the dram, but still a buzz-kill. I noticed this only when I used a small tulip shaped sniffer glass for some reason - I got almost nothing of it in a Glencairn. There is i slight touch if compost as well (which is a neutral remark - it’s not unplessant but rather gives character). Finally, there is a very slight hint of something sour/acidy whish is not too plesant but it’s only noticable on a very ”deep” sniff. Palate: The peat is more like hay and smoked ham now, and there is a fruity sweetness covering it. Hints of thick strawberry jam and English orange marmelade on toast. The off note on the nose does not at all carry over to the palate - fortunately. A light mineral touch is present as well. Finnish: A great mix of quite light smoke and dark marmelade fruits lingers for quite some time. Very nice. It’s not like a sherried Ardbeg where the smoke dominates - it’s clearly there, but subtile. After a while, an vague note like the flowey bitterness of many IPA beers comes through - nice and unique. Overall: The upsides of this whisky is the great balance between on the one hand the amount and character of the smoke, and on the other the dark and jammy fruits where neither is overpowering. Also, there is very little oak bitterness, which is often a (in my opinion) a negative side effect from heavy sherry maturation. On the downside is of course the sausage off-note, but since I was able to manage it by using a certain glass I’ll disregard it when scoring the whisky. Overall, the nose is good whereas the palate and the finish are really great. In total I give it a very comfortable 4.25, i.e a great whisky. Being a fan of this style of whisky (peat&sherry), I could see this one as a standard on my shelf.

Very smooth thoroughout