Bowmore European Fly Fishing Championships

BOWMORE EUROPEAN FLY FISHING CHAMPIONSHIPS Last night at "The Perfect Collection" masterclass, I had the joy of tasting one of the rarest and most collectible whiskies in Bowmore's history. This "European Fly Fishing Championships" was a special bottle that was never released for sale; and was a gift from Bowmore to the participants of the 2003 European Fly Fishing Tournament. The bottle is so rare that collectors go crazy when they see one of these rarities on the secondary market. Bottled at 40%abv, light golden color. Quite pronounced but aromatic peat on the nose. Starts with a maritime "feel". Plastic, copper, tar, iodine and blood aromas. After a first sip, it released pineapple, orange peel and pond notes. On the palate, it is mostly sweet with salty hints. Vanilla, meringue, salt and pencil. A second sip gave me tropical notes of pineapple pulp and syrup. The aftertaste is a bit simple but it serves its purpose and keeps up the pace of the whisky. Pencil, peat, salt and pepper. Dark chocolate with salt. Overall, this is an excellent single malt that the very few people who own it probably haven't even opened the bottle, as nowadays, if you can find it, it's close to $5,000. Definitely a rarity, my score for this bottle that belonged to Richard Gooding's Perfect Collection is 93 out of 100. Slàinte!