Generously_Paul
Bowmore 17 Year White Sands
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
March 1, 2019 (edited March 2, 2019)
After a rough day at work I decided rather than drink away my sorrows with quantity I’d instead sip them away while doing a review. That way I could engage my mind in something other than negative emotions over trivial things. I grabbed this sample that was sent to me from @LeeEvolved I haven’t had a Bowmore in a long while so it seemed like a good idea. This single malt from Islay is a travel retail exclusive that was aged at least 17 years in ex bourbon barrels. Bottled at 43% ABV and is certainly chill filtered and has colorant added making it a dark amber.
The nose opens with damp, musty peat, ashy and earthy. Quite fruity as well. In fact the sweet fruitiness quickly overtakes the peat in dominance with peaches, apricots, toasted coconut, strawberries and grilled pineapple. Plenty of honey, malted barley and heavy floral notes of orange/cherry blossoms. A light saltiness but overall sweet and fruity. Light oak, maple and caramel. Ever so subtle bourbon notes, vanilla and nuts.
The palate is two dimensional; peat and fruit. Tropical fruits like coconut, mango, and apricots. A decent peat level, but nothing compared to Bowmore’s south coast Islay brethren. More earthy than ashy or smoky. Musty cardboard, oak and oak tannins. Not much else going on, but it is interesting how the spirit interacted with bourbon casks and produced such a strong tropical fruit profile, where others are more honeyed with orchard fruits like apples or pears.
A light bodied mouthfeel that is thin and watery.
The finish is medium long with tropical fruits, peat and is dry.
A couple years ago at the begging of the famed Scottish Distillery Tour I supplied the group with a Bowmore Gold Reef. This is incredibly similar to that one. Perhaps a bit more mellowed though. This 17 year old cost double what that NAS did and the difference in quality is negligible from what I remember. So given a choice I’d take the cheaper one any day. I will say that this would be good as a sipper. Not one to dissect, but rather to sip absentmindedly while engaged in other activities.
Cheers
82.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@LeeEvolved I haven’t had Bowmore in quite some time. And with changing palates and broader experiences I wonder if I would this would now seem ordinary, which I am sure it would, as you experienced. I may have to bite the bullet and find out....eventually.
@Scott_E - I loved everything Bowmore when I first started drinking scotch. I even thought the 15 Darkest was a 5-star dram back in the beginning. My palate has evolved and now I need more depth and more power from Bowmore- the 12, 15, 18 and various new NAS’s just don’t cut it anymore. I have high hopes for the Vintner’s Trilogy and the Mizunara Cask, but their value is so high I can’t justify opening them to find out. It truly is a conundrum lol.
@LeeEvolved I am not well versed with Bowmore as you, but I did enjoy the 12, though it’s been some time. Decent and affordable, in my opinion.
Actually correction I thought you gave this a 3.75. Slightly higher rating than yours :-)
I rated the 18yr I worked through a bottle of. Lighter fare @ 43% but I loved the barbecue type thing going on. Black rock I also enjoyed despite 40% abv. I gave the white sands same score as you GP, 3.75. It went down hill from there:15 yr, 12, Gold reef all average or worse. I have samples of 18 year The Vintner's Trilogy and Devil's Cask II to work through so based on LE's comments I'm expecting great things!
@LeeEvolved Agree completely, and I’d add that the vector seems to be that high proof works well with exclusively bourbon maturation while sherry casks work well with old expressions. The really off ones (as far as I’ve had) are young, low abv sherried expressions.
@cascode - in my experience with Bowmore I’ve found that you need the higher proof releases or the significantly aged stuff. The best Bowmore I’ve had was the 23yo Port Finished- but it’s going for $400+ now. The 10yo Tempest and Dorus Mor are pretty good for around $100. Devil’s Cask were good, too but so hard to find for a reasonable price now.
@cascode @LeeEvolved would be the one to weigh in here, he’s had far more Bowmores than I have
Interesting - this sounds like a melange of all the best and worst Bowmore characteristics.
You’re a better man than me. I’d have drank out of the bottle and not even bother with notes
@ScotchingHard off night indeed, it took me the whole of Avengers Infinity War to get through those 2 ounces
Feel better. You got a lot of notes for an off day. I would be like, N: did not. P: alcohol. F: not yet.