A Bowmore Threesome

A couple of weeks ago I was graced by a visit from @MaltmanMike where we planned to do a tasting of two Bowmores. Unfortunately due to some technical glitches (his recording equipment had been on the Bowmore before us) the recording was completely out of focus!

Behind the scenes at a Maltman Mike vlog recording!

No doubt we'll have another go at a later date, but until then here are my thoughts on three Bowmore drams!

I'd bought the 9yo earlier in the year, the 15yo was a sample swap - thanks to @ThisIsMyDram and the Vaults was from the Maltman.

9yo, Vaults, 15yo

Distillery : Bowmore

Whisky : 9yo Sherry Cask Finish

Characteristics : 700ml, 40% ABV.

Colour : Old Oak - coloured

Nose : Light smoke with toffee

Palate : Weak sherry, very thin develops a little vanilla .

Finish : Slight alcohol burn - surprising for a 40%, some smoke

Overall : This one hasn't improved much in the 5 months it's been sat on my shelf - see my previous review here. As I said then it would have been better blended with something more smokier and sold as a NAS.

Distillery : Bowmore

Whisky : 15yo Darkest

Characteristics : 700ml, 43% ABV.

Colour : Old Oak - coloured

Nose : Bonfire smoke (from a distance) with salty sherry developing over time.

Palate : Thin sweet sherry developing to toffee with a little drying smoke.

Finish : Medium dry finish with light smoke

Overall : As others have mentioned this is a strange one where the name describes an artificial colour - come on Bowmore get rid of the caramel or sort out the marketing department.... This one was a much better dram than the 9yo.

Distillery : Bowmore

Whisky : Vaults Edit1°n (NAS)

Characteristics : 700ml, 51.5% ABV.

Colour : Old Gold

Nose : Vanilla, smoke developing into salty bread dough.

Palate : Mouth filling, oily, salted smoked oranges - yummy

Finish : Dry salty finish with the orange coming back
With Water : This dram was over 50% so I also tried it with a drop of water - this brought out a sweet smokiness in the nose and palate and intensified the orange finish.

Overall : Definitely the best of the trio! This was in a different league to the other two even as a NAS. The addition of a little water really brought out the Islay smoke - it's not in the same ballpark as some of the other Islay peat monsters but lovely never the less!

OK so no vlog for this tasting but you can view Mike's other vlogs on the Maltman Mike YouTube Channel.