Our remote Feis Ile 2025, today at Bowmore


May 28, 2025

Our remote Feis Ile 2025, today at Bowmore

This is Wednesday. We're keeping things reasonable, due to bottleneck issues at WF HQ. But we'll start with the obligatory wineskies… We could have called this session BB. Bizarre Bowmore. BTW It’s also Ardnahoe Day but alas! we’ve nothing new to hand. Next time.

Bowmore 14 yo ‘Bordeaux cask Finish’ (43%, OB, travel exclusive, 2024)

Mon Dieu, not Bowmore! Don’t tell me they’ve done that dreadful ‘Claret’ thing from twenty-five years ago all over again! Colour: gold – no pinkish hues, thank goodness. Nose: pata negra ham with redcurrant jelly, patchouli, bay leaf, and the usual saline Bowmore peat. In any case, it's not the calamity we had feared so far, at least for the moment. Mouth: they’ve shown a bit of tact here, it doesn’t burst into red fruit jelly sweets, and even the blackcurrants and cherries have been kept in check. No real clashes to speak of, just that odd sweet-and-savoury pudding note which remains a little baffling. Increasing amounts of crushed peppercorns too. Finish: fairly long, teetering on that tightrope between saline peat and the red fruits from Bordeaux – assuming it really is red Bordeaux, of course... Comments: at this rate, one wouldn’t mind knowing which vintage went into the wine casks, since in Bordeaux, vintages can be wildly different from one another. That would make sense, wouldn’t it? Anyway, this is far from a disaster.
SGP:554 - 83 points.

Bowmore 16 yo ‘Ruby Port cask Finish’ (43%, OB, travel exclusive, 2024)

In a way, we have to admire the sheer nerve it takes to lob 16-year-old Bowmore into Ruby Port. I daresay that requires a certain leap of faith. Colour: ripe apricot. Nose: well now, this isn’t half bad either; this time we’re veering more towards PX territory. Black pepper and plump black grapes, geranium, sandalwood, lonzo sausage, and very dark potting soil... Mouth: naturally it’s been crafted with great care, the cherry, blackcurrant and blackberry are all present and accounted for, though they’re nicely woven into that beloved salty and smoky malt base. Still, it does lean rather sweet... Finish: fairly long but the red fruits begin to take over, veering into smoked cherry jam with hints of fir wood. Or something along those lines. Comments: this one gave us a chuckle, which is quite the thing in these times. It’s a bit like the Eurovision Song Contest.
SGP:654 - 82 points.

Bowmore 19 yo ‘Pinot Noir cask Finish’ (43%, OB, travel exclusive, 2024)

Take cover, it’s Pinot Noir! We adore great Pinot Noirs, especially here in Burgundy – though they rarely belong in whisky, do they... Colour: reddish amber. Nose: oh well I’ll be, this is my favourite of the trio. That dirty, tertiary side of Pinot Noir actually seems to be working this time, I’d say the person behind this vatting’s done a cracking job given the odds. Cherry and blackcurrant, naturally, but in jam form with cane sugar, laced with faint touches of ferns and mushrooms. No hare pâté or ‘old priest’ to be found, we understand each other, don’t we. Mouth: this has been put together very neatly indeed, there’s none of that ‘Fiat Multipla’ or ‘Tesla Cybertruck’ feeling. This is squarely vinous with morello cherries, herbal infusions, prunes, crème de cassis... Yet the ‘Bowmore’ distillate still manages to rise to the surface, which is quite the achievement in this sort of get-up. Finish: lovely length and almost balanced, even if there’s a note of blood orange and cask-aged guignolet. Guignolet = cherry liqueur. Comments: I rather like this baby, even if I wouldn’t quite spring for a double-magnum. If they made double-magnums...
SGP:654 - 84 points.

We’re in agreement, we can’t just leave it at that. But anyway, let’s stick with the probably bizarre...

Bowmore 16 yo 1985 (50%, Silver Seal, sherry wood, 480 bottles)

This is Silver Seal from the Sestante era, and a vintage we’ve been taught to approach with caution. Colour: white wine. Nose: tells us one thing, not all batches were cursed with that infamous ‘FWP’ profile that once spilled oceans of ink and kilobytes across the whisky world. This is clean, fresh, highly briny, with elegant maritime peat, oysters, black rye bread, and… champagne. With water: even more champagne, veering toward Bollinger. Right, pinot noir again, in a way. Mouth (neat): sheer perfection, taut yet oily, earthy and smoky, with a good dose of currants from the sherry, blood oranges and pink grapefruit, all very reminiscent of certain vintages from two decades prior. With water: I must admit, there are a few subtle lavender and violet sweet notes, but we’re mercifully miles away from the old over-the-top disasters of the past. Finish: same story, that facet becomes a touch more obvious now, but all remains calm. Yay. Sea water in the aftertaste. Comments: a miracle bottle.
SGP:564 - 88 points.

We’re in agreement, we can’t just leave it at that. But anyway, let’s stick with the probably bizarre...

Check the index of all Bowmore we've tasted so far