Advent 2022 #9 - Bowmore 19 1998 The Whisky Agency

I grabbed this ages ago when I was picking up anything near my area of interest sample-wise, and it’s now finally turned up in an Advent calendar. By the accounts I’ve seen, this is a nice Bowmore and I’m hoping I get to see that blind.

Bowmore 19, 1998 Vintage, The Whisky Agency, Islay Single Malt, 48.8% ABV

Minutia: Distilled in 1998 and matured in a butt for 19 years and bottled in 2018. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.

Color: Pale gold; 0.3.

Nose: Ash, rubber. Fried dough. Malt.

Taste: Pepper, malt.

Finish: L:ight malt.

Guess: Gonna guess it’s a Laddie that has a couple qualities typically associated with peat.

This is interesting after the reveal. This is much more highly rated than the score it got from me, and reviews mention a lot of things I didn’t get anything close to. Either this one isn’t really for, I’m just not in the mood for it/my palate is compromised, or something went wrong with the sample and it didn’t hold up. I’m not saying it’s bad, but from what this looked like it could have been, I am a bit disappointed.

Score: 74

Bunnahabhain 27 1989 The Whisky Agency

 

A fun sample I had to pick up being from a birth year distillation. As a peat fan, Bunnahabhain isn’t my favorite distillery out there, but the two bottles I have distilled in 1989 and matured for just shy of 30 years did not disappoint. I’m glad to have another opportunity to try one.

Bunnahabhain 27, 1989 Vintage, The Whisky Agency, Islay Single Malt, 44.9% ABV

Minutia: Distilled in 1989 and matured in a hogshead for 27 years and bottled in 2017 yielding 247 bottles. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Amber, 0.7.

Nose: Appley cereal/malt. Floral.

Taste: Light. Honey, wood.

Finish: Add some malt into the taste. Medium.

Far from complex, and very light, that isn’t bad. This doesn’t tickle the powerful, smoky desires I tend to have for a whisky, but it’s still very nice. A great choice when you want an unchallenging but still bright and rewarding.

Score: 81

Musical Evocation: Bob Dylan – “Moonshiner” (but YouTube doesn’t have that recording so here’s The Tallest Man on Earth’s)