A while ago I wrote that I had drank all of a sample from a Whisky Agency bottle-share before taking notes. Apparently, I was talking out of my ass, since it was just there, on the shelf hiding for later use.

Bowmore seems to be picking up awards here and there, and mostly from pretty recent bottlings from the end of the nineties and later. Of course, they also pick up credits for really, really old bottles, from the sixties and such. Unfortunately, those usually don’t find their way into my humble home.

Nose:
Straw and moss at first, with prominent but not overpowering smoke. This particular Bowmore has a pretty bit hint of lavender wafting from the glass and the FWP alarm is going off right away. There are some spices too and the scent of laundry softener is not too big compared to the other scents. On the verge of being too perfumy.

Taste:
Sweet with vanilla, with big floral hints that were present on the nose as well. It’s rather sharp for a 51.8% dram, but again, not overpoweringly so. I also get some fresh juicy apple.

Finish:
The finish veers of in an entirely different direction. The flavours get warmer all of a sudden with a lot more cask to be tasted. The oaky notes are pretty big here. Also the vanilla again with maybe some dried flowers in the background.

The first scents I got were pretty good, with the farmy and forest like notes getting there first. Unfortunately the perfumy scents were quick to follow and they do put their stamp on this dram. After that the flavour and finish aren’t really that interesting. A decent Bowmore, but there are better ones out there.

Bowmore 12, 1998-2010, The Whisky Agency / Liquid Library, Ex bourbon barrel, 51.8%, available for € 63 at Whisky-Doris.