Bowmore Timeless 27 year old
Bottle Name: Bowmore Timeless 27 year old
Distillery: Bowmore
Region: Islay Age: 27
Bowmore’s 27 year old ‘Timeless’ release is composed of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks that were matured for 15 years, before being move over to oloroso butts for a further 12 years. It is not clear (I should have asked!) whether the ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks were vattted together before this long finishing period – I’m guessing they likely were.
The release consists of 3,000 bottles at an ABV of 52.7% and comes in at an RRP you might expect for older, extravagantly packaged Bowmore - £1,500 a bottle. Likely a blink and you’ll miss it release – allocations at some retailers have already sold out on impact – Bowmore collectors be Bowmore collectors!
Nose: Satchel leather, hessian and oily rags together with floral but highly earthy peat influence. It’s unmissably Bowmore from the get-go. Balsamic adds sharpness whilst delicate, but still tarry smoke is joined by pine needles, anise and cinnamon ball heat. Running throughout – polished mahogany – old and austere, alongside burnt honeycomb and BBQ briquettes. Water offers a residue meatiness with roasted ham, together with reduced and jammy blackberries and asides of coastal rocks and sandy beaches.
Taste: Soft and pliable on the arrival with old resinous oak providing plenty of body and joined with blackberry cordial and scattered wild berries. Leather seat covers and liquorice sit with felt roofing and tarmac whilst refined sugars and dark bitter chocolate are offset by dunnage earthiness, tingly white pepper and metholated oakiness. Reduction here isn’t by any means required – it drinks well at 52.7% - however the results are nevertheless thought-provoking – a fruitier outlook with griddled peaches and roasted apricots, alongside spent espresso ground, dusty library shelves and high mineral content.
Finish: Long with old metholated oak, dried leaves, parchment paper and fading cigar smoke.
Bowmore Timeless 27-year-old is a dangerous pleasure of a whisky. At over £60 a dram it’s absolutely the sort of whisky that comes jam-packed with expectations and price/brand biases pre-loaded. And honestly, it’s not really designed for me – or likely for hardly any of you reading this either. Profile-wise it is unequivocally Bowmore, and ably straddles deep, dark and brooding character with an elegance and poise that one would frankly expect of a whisky this statute. Lovely. But then you'd expect nothing less.
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