Let’s analyze first. ‘On the dunes’ gives me associations of sea breeze, sand, maybe some heather from just behind the dunes. ‘Watching a puffer’ I had to look this up. What’s a puffer? Apparently it’s something or someone who smokes. I could have figured that but since a puffIN is a bird, I thought a puffER might be something too. Anyway, apart from the smoke there’s no associations for me.

So far it could indeed be a nice Bowmore, since the indications don’t do anything to discredit the default characteristics of Bowmore. Not too much info about the floral bit you can sometimes find, and luckily no hints of FWP either. Let’s dive in!

Bowmore distillery. Image from IslayInfo.com

Sniff:
Heather and ashes at first, with some peat and smoke right after. Light sherry sweetness and a little bit astringent. As with some sherry casks lately this has some moldy, mushroomy scent to it.

Sip:
It starts off similar to the nose with heather and smoke. It’s quite sharp and has a carbonized quality to it. There’s more sherry sweetness with oak, peat, ash and a hint of lavender. There’s a hint of FWP but not too much, luckily.

Swallow:
The finish is rather sharp and slightly sweet. It might even have a fruitiness that I haven’t picked up earlier. Ashy and short.

Well. As so many medium aged whiskies bottled by a lot of bottlers it isn’t bad but neither is it stellar. The heat from the alcohol is really present, more so than expected which doesn’t help either. So, not a bad whisky, but not one I will remember two weeks from now.

On the dunes – watching a puffer, Bowmore, 16yo, 56%, 1994-2011, Refill Ex-Sherry Butt, Scotch Malt Whisky Society