Thanks to @pkingmartin I have an opportunity for a fun side-by-side: Bowmore 26 Vintner's Trilogy, and Single Malts of Scotland Bowmore 25 (not on the app yet, maybe I'll add it later). The SMoS simply says "hogshead" for cask type. These are just the 2nd and 3rd Bowmores I've had (the other being the OB 24 Port Matured). Started with the 25. Nose has a lot of custard, vanilla, a touch of honeysuckle, and a wisp of smoke. Pretty nice. On the palate there's dry peat, custard, oak. The finish is a little more floral and oaky. The peat smoke is still front and center despite 25 years in the barrel. Mouthfeel is moderately thick. It's a pretty bare-bones Bowmore that showcases the distillate, and while I was initially a little underwhelmed considering the $500 or so price tag, it's growing on me already. 86/100. On to the 26. The nose is rich, tannic, lots of dark fruit, prune, hint of smoke and dried leaves. On the palate there's some cocoa, prune, blackberry, lightly smoky, with tannins, oak, tea, spice, and a little more peat coming through on the finish. The wine barrel definitely overpowers the distillate, but not quite to the point where the distillate becomes interchangeable. 89/100