Tasting Notes: Bowmore 15 Year Old Sherry Finish

Bowmore 15 YO. 43% abv.   Sherry Finish. 12 years in Bourbon cask + 3 years in Oloroso Sherry. 8-10 PPM.

Good solid “glug” as pouring out of bottle. Slow, spaced tear drops or legs.

Colour: Russet amber, orangey brown.

Nose: Raisins, burnt tires and red berries on the bush. Oranges and tar. Wisps of candy floss float in. I am reminded of chocolate orange segments.

A lovely smoky, woolly note. Like smoke that lingers on an old knitted jumper that is too small for you. And you have been sitting on faded wooden floor boards around a small driftwood fire, which was lit in the fireplace of an old beach hut with hardly any furniture. And there were old, damp newspapers in the grate which were left in place when the fire was started….

Then a note of brown sauce – HP sauce! and black cherries and tires and leather.

A light salty tint, black forest gateau, mushrooms! and cream – just the faintest reminder of mushrooms.    Golden syrup and furniture polish.

A round mossy tree branch, and the smell of sticking your nose into a pile of heather growing at the side of the track you are walking along.

Mussel shells and seaweed.

Mouthfeel: Thinly silky. A lovely dryness and tightness on the side of the cheeks from the tannins and smoke.

A journey over the tongue. This dram is more open and “sparer” than the Bruichladdich Islay Barley I tasted last night. That dram was more a “vertical” tasting experience – where the notes were deep and in one place. This Bowmore is an horizontal journey of a tasting experience. Not a long journey. But a more spaced out in time, tasting experience.

Nosing after Tasting: Black tarry chocolate – reminds me of chocolate coated black cherries. Now, something open and pastel appeared over the top of the dram, but it was so fleeting I can’t place it.

I am reminded of being at sea in small, faded paint, wooden rowing boat. There is a slight mustiness and a quick note of olive oil. Oranges and treacle cake.

2nd Mouthfeel: Soft and light at the back of the mouth, with a reminder of peaty smoke down the back of the throat.

An easy drinking dram. This will go well with Peppered Mackerel and potatoes with butter. Or, more urban style – with a Blueberry muffin!

Slàinté!