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20th August 2013 |
An
outstanding limited edition Bowmore 1989
23 year old Port Cask matured whisky.
 I have had this one sitting on my desk
for a good few weeks now and I have resisted
the urge just to throw it back and write
a quick review. Given my previous very
favourable experiences of older Bowmore
whiskies and my soft spot for a decent
Port cask matured peaty whisky which is
still a quite rare expression to see especially
amongst the peatier whiskies. I have
been looking forward to this but I
waited until I had the time to sit down
and give it the time it deserves.
So what exactly is in the bottle? It is
a Bowmore 23 year old single malt whisky
which was distilled in 1989, 100%
matured in Port Casks then bottled in
2013 at 50.8% ABV.
Having very
much enjoyed a couple of bottles of the
the Bowmore 21 year old 1988 Port Cask
matured limited edition back in 2009
when it was released I was pleased to
hear that Bowmore had released this one.
Having previously enjoyed the Bowmore 21
year old 1988 doesn't guarantee that
this new 1989 limited release will be
good. 100% maturation in a fortified
wine cask such as a Port cask for such a
long time will always have the danger
that the Port will overpower the Bowmore
characteristics of the whisky
but in my experience Bowmore and Port casks seem to be
very compatible partners, I hope that is
the case here.
So what
is the Bowmore 1989 23 year old like?
See below for my thoughts on it.
The Bowmore 23 Year Old 1989 Port Cask
Matured is a limited release of 12,000
bottles worldwide with only 120 cases
available here in the UK with an RRP of
£380.
You will find the current Bowmore range
available from specialist online whisky retailers such
as
Master of
Malt
|
Bowmore 23 Year Old 1989 Port Cask
Matured Tasting Notes
|
 William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Colour:
Dark rich enticing ruby red.
Nose:
I could nose this for hours, Bowmore's
classic mild sea-salt peatiness, some
pepper and a touch of spice and a
delicious port plumminess (is that a
word? It is now!) from the port casks.
Chocolate raisins, some toffee in there
with a delicious mild Bowmore smokiness
just hanging around in the background to
remind us where this whisky came from.
Taste:
A deliciously rich mix of fruit from
both the
port cask and the Bowmore whisky all
coated in a delicious mild Bowmore
smoke. Mild damson (plum) jam sweetness,
a wee
bit of spice, a bit of sea-salt.
Finish:
Long! A mild slowly drying smoke and
the rich plummy port fruitiness just seems to
linger forever.
Comment:
Loved it! The Port cask has tamed the
Bowmore peatiness a little but by no
means overpowered it, it has let the
Bowmore fruitiness come through
alongside a more subtle gentle Bowmore
floral peatiness. The folks at Bowmore just seem to have a
knack for selecting good port casks. I would love to see
a younger more affordable Port cask
matured whisky in the Bowmore core
range as Bowmore and Port make a very
good partnership, perhaps a annual small batch
limited release like the Tempest.
This is certainly one for those with
very very deep pockets, I know there is
a bit of a premiumisation (I invent
another word) in the single malt whisky
industry at the moment due to the what
seems like the ever expanding markets
and demand for premium malt whisky but
the price tag on this one is a bit hard
to swallow but if your pockets are deep
enough you wont be disappointed this is
an outstanding mildly peaty port cask
matured whisky.
SMW Score
93/100
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Where To Buy Bowmore Whisky Online
|
|
Select a country for a list
of specialist Whisky shops who delivers
to you:
|
Whisky Focus
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