pkingmartin
Bowmore Vintner's Trilogy 26 Year French Oak Barrique
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
May 14, 2021 (edited October 24, 2023)
I just finished my second dose of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine and can sense the world slowly starting to return to normal again. To celebrate, I debated on a few samples, but decided on opening up a full bottle to have a few drinks of something special. This is a 26 year Bowmore that was released as part of the Vintner's trilogy and was matured first in ex-bourbon barrels for 13 years before being transferred to French oak wine barriques for another 13 years before being bottled at 48.7% ABV.
The first smell is overwhelming with tannic oak and peat mixing together with dark chocolate covered candied bacon. I handed my wife the glass to take a nose and taste and her first thoughts are “Oh, this smells just like the hamster bedding I would get as a kid.” My initial reaction to that was “What the fuck”, followed by receiving the glass and taking a smell to think “Yep, sure enough, there’s fucking peated hamster bedding in my whisky.” I let the glass sit out for 30 minutes to let it open and the hamster bedding of fresh pressed cedar notes calm down and go into the background more, but are still very much a part of this whisky. Pushing past those heavy cedar notes you are rewarded with a nose that starts with a campfire next to the ocean then balsamic vinegar and strawberry puree reduction glazed over angel food cake leading to candied bacon wrapped in dark chocolate, figgy pudding covered in a rich bourbon caramel, roasted chestnuts then old tannic oak and leather with a mild alcohol burn.
The taste is a rich viscous mouthfeel starting with rich bourbon caramel, strawberry jam on charred sour dough bread, ocean brine with light peat, chocolate covered candied bacon, roasted chestnuts, ginger, old tannic oak and leather with medium ethanol burn that finishes long with bourbon caramel, balsamic and strawberry syrup, vanilla cupcake, campfire ashes, ocean brine, tannic oak, leather and dark chocolate covered candied bacon that lingers for minutes.
For the age, the peat is still very present and not as light as older peated expressions tend to be. The oak is big on this and those tannins almost overpower the whisky, but the wine influence has added nice strawberry and balsamic flavors that complement it nicely. A great whisky to drink, celebrate the slow return back to normal life and hopefully be able to share with a few friends soon.
360.0
USD
per
Bottle
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@Anthology I had no symptoms with the first shot, other than a sore arm. The second shot brought some fatigue and a sorer arm, but nothing too bad.
@Anthology Thanks, I had to look it up but it was through https://www.saratogawine.com/. They appear to have raised the price to $500 after my order. 😢
Nice review! And decent price at $360 @pkingmartin ! Where do you find it for that price? Most places I’ve seen have at ~$500 @ctbeck11 not sure this works for everyone but [it was suggested] and I took some Tylenol before my 2nd Pfizer shot, plus hot shower when I got home before bed (and longer sleep time) and it seemed to help a lot with the symptoms.
@pkingmartin ahhh thank you! a more affordable likeness is appreciate!
@JoelyO Haha! Thanks! I’d recommend Balcones Peated or an Ardbeg Corry that are more cost friendly and very incredible. Cheers!
Jesus christ! I swear reading this turned me on! Between your review and @PBMichiganWolverine I need to find a way to afford this stuff. (looks around for corner in wealthy neighborhood)
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington No, I have a sample of it that I need to get to. This one is very woody but seems to be losing some hamster bedding as it oxidizes.
Have you had the standard 18? I’ve picked it up and put it back several times. Not sure I can handle hamster bedding.
@Soba45 you guys were so ahead of the curve anyway. The risk now though are all these variants. Did you get your jab?
Great review! The Pfizer one is the one we have in NZ luckily....roll out is slow but we aren't in a rush :-).
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington @PBMichiganWolverine Agreed. Not turning back at this point. I’d rather endure a few vaccine hangover days than go through having Covid again. I’ll share my thoughts on the experience after I get the next dose.
@ctbeck11 the reaction to the second one is a coin toss - close to 50% of people will get chills, fatigue, body aches, etc. Generally prior infection increases the chances of side effects but doesn’t always play out that way. Regardless, vaccination provides more protection against today’s variants than prior infection with another strain so it’s worth a go.
@ctbeck11 it’s been a while I worked in pharma R&D, but I think that 2nd shot for you will be even more potent and effective, since you already had COVID. @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington might be closer to the R&D science and clinical than me
@PBMichiganWolverine @pkingmartin I’ll be getting my second Pfizer shot in a few weeks. Hoping for similarly mild symptoms. No issues with the first one.
@pkingmartin not bad .,.the Pfizer one seems to induce milder reactions.
@ContemplativeFox Thanks! Feeling pretty good today. Yesterday was the worst with mild fatigue and muscle aches, but thankfully no high temperature.
@pkingmartin Congratulations on getting the shot and happy World Whisky Day! How are you feeling so far?
@PBMichiganWolverine This is the only one I’ve tried. The others are an 18 in Manzanilla casks and a 27 aged in port casks.
Was this the oldest of the trilogy? Have you tried the other 2 ?