Advent 2021 #24 - Bowmore 15 2001 Signatory Vintage

With all the praise IB Bowmore’s get, it’s a bit of a no-brainer to include a sample of it in an order when there’s one available. And with that, this year’s Advent calendar draws to a close for a regular review format and schedule to resume. So is it closed out with a bang or a whimper?

Bowmore 15, 2001 Vintage, Signatory Vintage, Islay Single Malt, 55.6% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on October 2, 2001 and matured in hogshead #20117 for 15 years and bottled on August 23, 2017 yielding 233 bottles. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.

Color: Pale gold; 0.3.

Nose: Sweet, seafoody, creamy, malty, buttery, grassy.

Taste: Honey, red/black pepper, malt. Cayenne flavor and heat persists.

Finish: Pepper up front. Malt, subtle smoke. Medium.

Guess: Laddie Bere Barley? Unpeated Caol Ila? Springbank? Is there a Hazelburn in my inventory? No idea.

This is really a unique whisky. The nose started out with characteristics of a lot of whiskies, it said Bruichladdich at first. The pepper is something I never got quite like that. If Talisker did an unpeated expression that would have been my guess. A characteristic in the finish really felt a lot like Springbank finishes. It wasn’t quite smoky enough for that so I thought Hazelburn, as well as the nose having a quality I find in a lot of Irish whiskeys so I figured maybe it was a triple-distilled thing but I’m pretty sure there are no Hazelburns in my sample inventory. It’s not my favorite as I really prefer a more upfront smokiness, but this is really a very interesting dram and I’m glad I got to try it. While not an in-your-face explosion, it’s far more toward bang than whimper.

Score: 81

Musical Evocation: Denali – “Real Heat”

Here are links to the other posts from this calendar: