Bowmore 30, Bourbon Barrel

MAX ORDER -- 2 BOTTLES PER PERSON/ADDRESS

This cask bottling, distilled in March 1989, spent thirty years maturing in an ex-bourbon barrel. It was bottled at cask strength in May of 2019 at 44.1% ABV. Cask #1986 yielded only 150 bottles.

Our tasting notes are as follows:

Color: Gold

Nose: Everything we look for in 1980’s Bowmore: Pineapple soda (almost effervescent on the nose), Pixie Stix, lavender oil, new canvas shoes, a delicate wisp of smoke, Mandarin peel zest, orange blossom honey, sugar cookies, and a panoply of greenhouse flowers 

Palate: Very generous mouthfeel which is both unctuous and vibrant (reminiscent of the effervescent quality we got on the nose). Highly perfumed with spider mums, lavender, and no-tear kids’ hand soap. Past this, the shopping list of penny store candies are revealed: Fun Dip, Bottle Caps, Red Hot Dollar$. The floral component returns in the form of rich and pungent honeysuckle

Finish: Like Beech-Nut gum, the fruit on the finish is massive. Unlike Beech-Nut gum, the flavor goes on and on and is supported by that delicate thread of smoke we detected on the nose

On the label: N/A

Established in 1779, the Bowmore distillery is Islay's oldest. The second best selling Islay whisky (behind Laphroaig) has barely changed tradition over the almost two and a half centuries it has been in production. Speak with current distillery manager David Turner and he'll tell you he's a steward of those established traditions. Speak with whisky drinkers in the know and you'll hear tell of a process that bucked those traditions during the 1980s... More generally, though, older expressions of Bowmore demonstrate a tropical fruit note that is much sought after.