Bowmore 40yo

[JAB]

Bowmore 40 Years Old
Just 53 bottles of the limited edition Bowmore 40 Years Old will be released for sale worldwide. Priced at £6,500 per bottle, this is the ultimate luxury gift for the Single Malt whisky connoisseur.

Handcrafted to perfection, this remarkable spirit has been maturing since 29th March 1969 in the specially selected ...American bourbon cask (cask number 2161 to be precise), gently imparting its unique and finest flavours into the malt. Inspired by the rugged Islay coastline, every bottle is a work of art. Painstakingly designed by two of Scotland's foremost glass-blowers Brodie Nairn and Nichola Burns, each one is hand-blown and sculpted using molten glass and stones collected from the Islay shore - no two bottles are the same.

Brodie Nairn comments on the partnership: "We are delighted to have been commissioned by Bowmore to create the Bowmore 40 Years Old. Our approach to creating glassware is very similar to the approach Bowmore take with their whiskies; hand-crafted and born from the environment. All our work is free-blown and very organic in nature. For us, the Islay coastline was the natural inspiration for the bottle design."?

Hamilton and Inches, Warrant Holder to The Queen and one of Scotland's most prestigious jewellers, were also enlisted to add the finishing touches to the bottle with a hand-engraved solid silver collar that adorns each bottle. Finally the whisky is presented on a beautifully polished slab of natural slate providing a fitting plinth to display the bottle at its best.

David Wilson, Sales and Marketing Director at Morrison Bowmore, said: "We are extremely proud of the Bowmore 40 Years Old and the Bowmore 1981. They are the result of a huge amount of care and skill by our dedicated and devoted team of craftsmen, and are a valued addition to our unrivalled collection of limited editions."?

On the nose, Bowmore 40 Years Old is smoked oak, sweet vanilla cream, poached pears and a gentle earthy peatiness. The palate reveals wood spice, orange peel, fresh pink grapefruit and sweet pear, with the mild influence of peat smoke, bringing balance to the sweet and fruity characteristics.

[Mark]

You must have an inside source JAB as i cant even see this mentioned on the Bowmore site. i was hoping to see an image of the new bottle, it will be the closest i get to a bottle unfortunately, but nothing on the site as far as i can see.

[JAB]

I was told about it at the auchentoshan distillerys festival day off of eddie mcaffer.
I didnt have any info untill now.
The information has now been posted on Bowmores Facebook page with a video showing the bottle (VERY NICE LOOKING)

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=452094379184&ref=mf

http://www.facebook.com/bowmore

[Alastair]

I couldnt even afford the empty bottle at the moment

[Fergie]

I am sure it will sell well like previous aged bowmores. The bottle does look smart.

[JAB]

(AS WRITTEN ON CASKSTRENGTH.NET)

Onward now to the 40 Year Old. Just two key facts here:


1. This is £6,500 a bottle


2. There are 53 bottles available in, what has to be said, is a beautiful hand blown glass bottle on a plinth made out of Islay slate. The whole thing really is quite stunning.


Needless to say, this isn't going to make our "reasonably priced dram of the week", unless inflation continues in the current vein, when I'll be able to afford a bottle of this with the change I get from buying some eggs and bread down the local Costcutter.


It's almost pointless writing a review on this whisky. Firstly because it's bloody excellent; of course it is. Bowmore have a cracking track record of putting out first class old whisky. One only has to look at the Black Bowmore series to see that. But secondly, it's over Six Thousand Pounds a bottle.


Six. Thousand. Pounds.


In summary, all you really need to know is that it smells of dark chocolate, peat and oak. It tastes of black cherries, licorice and mandarin. On the finish you get an explosion of classic old Bowmore exotic fruits, mangos and sweet satsuma with dying peat embers to keep the whole thing alive. But if you are thinking of buying a bottle and really want to know the full details, then read on...



Bowmore - 40 Years Old - Cask No. 2162 - Bourbon Cask - 44.8% vol - 700ml


Nose: Delicate peat smoke, high coco content dark chocolate, figs, dry oak, old leather and lanolin. Rich and deep as you would expect from a 40 Year Old whisky.


Palate: Black cherry, rich oak, leather, cigar tobacco, sweet dark sugars muddle with a fruit juices and orange bitters.


Finish: That explosion of exptc fruits and peat that you would expect from a good old Bowmore.


Overall: A great whisky which is very, very rich and like good dark chocolate can't be taken too much at one time. It's a bottle to savour and enjoy. And at this price, it bloody better be!




As I made my way back out to Regent Street, to the hustle and bustle of every day London life, I realised that, no matter how hard you try, you can not bring Islay to London. You might bring the people, you might bring pictures and videos. You might even bring the whisky. But the only true way to experience Islay is to visit. It's not a world away from London. It's a different world altogether. And a better one for it.


For the time being however, I'll sit with a small glass of Bowmore 15, draw the curtains, burn a peat cone, my own "postcard" of Islay and dream of stepping of the little plane at the Airport to a magical world of whisky and nature

[Keith]

you have convinced me i want a bottle.

[JAB]

Who wouldnt love one!

such a nice bottle and the reviews i have read have all been good!

hopefully get 2 taste it soon

[Samson]

Another one which i will only get to imagine.

Pity as it would look good on my shelf

[JAB]

Yes one to dream about

[William]

I know a little late but i have added a piece about this to the whisky news section for the many site visitors who dont use the forum section of the site. See here

www.scotchmaltwhisky.co.uk/bowmore40yearold.htm

click on the picture of the bottle for a close up view of this great looking bottle.