Continuing the Malt Nuts ex-bourbon cask aged Bowmore bottlings tasting... Please click on Part I and Part II if you want to start with the previous posts covering the first two flights.
3A - The First Edition Bowmore 1997 14yo (54.8%)
Color: Unoaked white wine, pale straw with pretty persistent teardrops very hesitantly converting into thin but oily legs.
Nose: Coal gas, burnt tires and wet sand. Sea spray, burnt rosemary sprigs and fresh oregano leaves. Adding water shifts it to a more peaty and less herbal side. Fireplace ash, burnt animal fat and fuel soaked boat engine.
Palate: White pepper, dry peat and toasted oak. It was quite drinkable at cask strength but adding water doesn't cause any harm: Eucalyptus, woolen scarves and vanilla.
Finish: Medium to long with white pepper, dry soot and menthol.
Overall: One of the better samples we tasted so far. I wouldn't oppose to own a bottle of this... Textbook ex-bourbon cask matured Bowmore.
3B - Jack Wiebers Whisky World Bowmore 2002 12yo (57.7%)
Color: Pretty much the same color like 3A but with faster forming and thicker legs.
Nose: Very citrusy... Lemon juice, kumquat and sea salt. Vanilla extract, lemon flowers and pine forest. Oops, a couple drops of water brought out some distant and unexpected 90s Bowmore notes a.k.a. FWP: Dry lavender, old school perfumes and soap bars.
Palate: Lemon cookies, pine nuts and vanilla. This is the first time I am getting these FWP notes from a post 2000 distilled Bowmore. Strangely adding water amplifies them even more: Hyacinths and rose petals. Lavender and floral perfumes.
Finish: Medium with cheap perfume, lavender soap and potpourri.
Overall: Well, like I said it's not as strong as it's in some old Bowmores but I am really not a fan of these FWP notes in my whisky.
3C - Old Masters Bowmore 1990 15yo (51.1%)
Color: Light straw, lemon chiffon with oily thick and slow moving legs.
Nose: Now this is a pretty promising nose. Flowers in full bloom: Hyacinths, jonquils and rose water. Old school diner style banana cream pie, milk chocolate and passion fruit. Underripe mango slices and guava juice. A few drops of water add Juicy Fruit bubblegums, kiwi and strawberries. Fantastic nose...
Palate: Passion fruit, rose jam and sweet tangerines. Exotic fruit juices mix, dried strawberries and a little bit fresh coriander. Adding water helps to eliminate the little amount of soapiness I had before. Peach and apricot nectars.
Finish: Long with a fruit salad made with all the exotic fruits I listed above, peach nectar and more passion fruit.
Overall: Fantastic bottling... They don't make them like that anymore. Do they..? Absolutely in love...
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