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1257 Kensington Road NW
1 (403) 283-8000 / atyourservice@kensingtonwinemarket.com
$4,999.99
Three decades of age means we're almost certainly past the floral age of Bowmore and meandering a little closer to a style less polarizing. This one was matured in a mix of Sherry Hogsheads and Bourbon Barrels. Everything we've heard suggests big tropical tones and incredible depth of flavour. Needless to say, we can't wait to try it. Extremely limited, of course. 91pts Whisky Fun
Natural colour, non-chill filtered, and bottled at 45.3% abv.
750 mlOUT OF STOCK
If you'd like us to try to order it, add it to your cart. We can't promise, but we'll do our best!
91pts Whiskyfun Tasting Note
Nose: all the ripe mangos and aromatic honeys you would dream of, you would almost believe this was distilled in the 1960s. Beyond that, some dried kelp, sandalwood, moss, some black tea that you would nose straight from its box, surely some peppermint and something medicinal (a pack of cough lozenges), then rather a lot of dark chocolate. These notes of black loose leaf tea are spectacular. Perhaps Golden Monkey? Mouth: all the tropical fruits are on stage now, mangos of course, also passion fruit, blood oranges, guavas, plus that black tea we were mentioning, some pu-her too, some coffee, more dark chocolate, some pipe tobacco… It's not really as fat as, for example, the Black Bowmores, but there are some similarities. The best piece of news is that no violet or lavender seems to have been involved (I didn't say laundered!) in this rather perfect mix. Finish: medium, even more of those teas, also on tannic honeys such as chestnut, not to mention the famous Italian 'corbezzolo' from Sardinia (harvested from arbutus or strawberry trees). Ever tried that bitter honey? Pepper, smoke and bitter chocolate in the aftertaste. Comments: we've seen in most peaters (especially Laphroaig and Bowmore) that exotic fruits would come out after a good 25 years in wood or say 10 or 12 years in wood plus 30 or 40 years in glass. It's a glorious transmutation of peat, shall we say rather empirically. It's a superb Bowmore, Mum. 91 points.
Bowmore Distillery is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland and is the oldest on Islay that still exists, having been founded in 1779. It currently vies with Lagavulin to be the 2nd best-selling Islay Single Malt brand.
The Distillery itself lies within the town which shares its name and is right against the shoreline of Loch Indaal. Even though the distillery is on the coast, it can still be considered closest to the centre of Islay. The town of Bowmore only predates the distillery by less than two decades, and it was the first planned settlement in Scotland.
The town’s gridlike layout and construction were initiated in 1768 by Daniel Campbell the Younger, who was the owner of the Islay and part of Jura. He resided in the famous Islay House and planned the town of Bowmore to resettle residents from the village of Kilarrow. Kilarrow was situated close to Islay House, near what is now called Bridgend. It is said that Daniel the Younger felt that Kilarrow spoiled the view between Islay House and Loch Indaal. All that remains of the old village is a cemetery on Islay House property.
On the upside, Daniel the Younger did also build the now-famous Kilarrow Parish that is atop the hill in Bowmore. The church is famous for being entirely round so that it gives to corner for the devil to hide in. Bowmore and the Kilarrow Parish lay a little over 4km south of Bridgend and where the previous village existed. Currently, the town of Bowmore is populated by around 800 residents.
As for the distillery, Bowmore’s nearest neighbour is Bruichladdich, which is a 15-minute drive West along the coastal road A847 to the other side of Loch Indaal. Caol Ila Distillery is about a 20-minute drive to the East along the A846. If you head South from Bowmore the Port Ellen Maltings (and soon the rebuilt Port Ellen Distillery is about a 20-minute drive as well, and from there you can get to Laphroaig Distillery, Lagavulin and Ardbeg which all lie within 10 minutes drive from there.
Like Laphroaig, the Bowmore distillery is owned by parent company Beam Suntory. Also like Laphroaig, Bowmore is one of three distilleries on Islay to have its own on-site floor maltings and peat kilns, which are able to produce just about one-third of Bowmore’s needs for mashing and distillation.
Insert Peat Here: One of the Kilns At Bowmore Distillery
The 12 Year Old has been one of the core expressions in the Bowmore range for quite a while. Included in the core range are the no age statement Bowmore No.1, the 12 Year, 15 Year, 18 Year, and 25 Year Old. Various limited expressions have been available over the past few years, including the ongoing Vaults series, the Winemaker’s Trilogy. Currently, there are sparse independent bottlings available of Bowmore, and they tend to be expensive when they are released.
$4999.99
Available by request. Bottled at 43.5%, the BenRiach The Forty is billed by the owners as one of the "oldest peated whiskies in the world". Initially matured in ex-Bourbon, it was finished in port casks before bottling. 91pts Whisky Fun 90.75pts WhiskyBase
$1249.99
One of the oldest peated BenRiach's we've seen, at least in recent memory, the BenRiach The Thirty is the only whisky in the distillery's core range using 100% Highland Peated malt. The "Four Cask Matured" whisky is composed of malts matured for at least 30 years in a mix of Sherry, Bourbon, Port, and Virgin Oak casks. 46%.
Producer Description
"In the early 1970s, Benriach broke convention in Speyside by returning to distilling batches of whisky in the old, 19th century style, using malted barley smoked with Highland peat. We therefore have the unique opportunity to be the only distillery in the region offering peated whisky at this age. Benriach Thirty is the only expression in our core range using 100% Highland peat matured whisky. At this age however, the peat has built an aromatic sweet complexity that makes the smoke almost untraceable. This exquisite single malt has been crafted from peated spirit and four cask matured for at least thirty years in sherry casks, bourbon barrels, virgin oak casks and port casks from the Douro Valley.
"During long maturation Benriach’s sweet Speyside smoke mellows and integrateswith the fruit, malt and oak. After thirty years, rich layering develops into sublime honeyed smoke, further enhanced through multi-layered cask maturation. The whisky from each cask type, imbued with particular flavour characteristics, is then expertly married together to create an exquisitely harmonious single malt, layered with dark fruits, rich walnut and velvety oak spice with a long, complex, smoked honey finish. All in perfect balance.