Bowmore Vault Edit1on No. 1 "Atlantic Sea Salt"

The first of a four part series of limited releases, each highlighting one of four characteristics of their whisky maturing in their No. 1 vaults warehouse.

Bowmore Vault Edit1on No. 1, Islay Single Malt, 51.5% ABV

Minutia: Matured for an undisclosed amount of time in ex-bourbon casks. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Deep gold, 0.8.

Nose: A light smokiness which feels ramped up due to the ethanol hides the rest of the nose at first. Lemon meringue comes in. It takes on a smoky, creamy quality, like a smoky cookie dough.

Taste: Salty, slightly medicinal, some smoke.

Finish: Much the same, up on the salt. Orange/grapefruit in there a bit. Medium long. Much less salty if held longer in your mouth.

Goodness, this delivers the salt the label promises in spades. I don’t find it to be too much, but not much more and it would be. I’ve not experienced a finish like this where it’s so affected by how long the whisky was in the mouth before swallowing. A solid offering from Bowmore I’m glad I got a chance to try a sample of, and makes me more excited about the bottle I bought of the second release, highlighting the peat smoke. 

Score: 84

Musical Evocation: Bitter:Sweet – “Salty Air”