Bowmore tasting evening at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, June 26th 2019: Whisky #6 Nose: Rich, buttery, and very fruity. Some restrained sherry notes and in the background a whisper-light smoke aroma. There are also some citrus/brine notes that are part of the Bowmore house style, but they are very restrained and mainly noticed on the dry glass. Palate: Spicy, sweet, fruity and smoky arrival. Very full and complex with great depth. Layers of flavour unfold as the development proceeds, intense in character and subtle in interaction. There is a light briny note that is restrained, like the nose, and the texture is full and rounded. Finish: Medium/long. Brine, subtle smoke and sherry fade to a mouth-watering sweetness with a slightly ashy aftertaste. Distilled in 1994 and bottled in 2018, this tasting was from one of 521 bottles yielded by cask #555 (given the size of the bottling and the colour of the whisky this was most likely a refill oloroso sherry butt). A very enjoyable whisky that possesses a more open and clean character than any official Bowmore I've tasted. It was also not as tight as I'd expected, having a generous nose and palate when neat - but then it has relatively low abv for a cask strength whisky. The addition of water produced an avalanche of fruit, particularly on the palate, and transmuted the modest salty presence into a crisp thin sweetness. Delightful either neat or diluted. Overall I though it to be superior to the official 18 year old expression and it certainly provided an interesting slant on the distillery profile. Why can't Bowmore produce whisky like this themselves? The price is, however, rather excessive - more than I think is justified. "Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)