Whisky : Bowmore 17 Year; The Whisky Barrel “One Small Step”

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 54.6%

Cask : First Fill Oloroso

Age : 17 Year (Distilled 2002, Bottled 2020)

Nose : Autumn— dried leaves, spiced pumpkin pie, faint chimney smoke, and dried out wood.  Sweet notes of maple syrup, caramel fudge, and brown sugar syrup combine with meatier hints of leather, motor oil, and roasted ham skin.

Palate : Medium bodied and dry with the cutting acidity of a light roasted coffee.  Tart fruits come right out with sour plums, cranberries, and rambutan pits.  Crushed coffee beans in a Mexican chocolate brownie bring together toasty elements with chocolate, cinnamon, and pepper.  On the back end slightly bitter medicinal herbs came through with tobacco, leather, and an oily smoked fish.

Finish : Lingering dryness, tangy starfruit, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Score : 6

Mental Image : Overly Complicated Bake Show Brownies

Something Better : Arran 9 Y LMDW (Similar tart fruit and spice, longer finish)

Something Similar : Longrow Red 13YMalbec (similar tart fruits, toasted herbs, more chimney soot)

Something Similar : Glengoyne Teapot Dram; Batch 7 (similar Mexican chocolate, more citrus fruit)

Notes : There was an awful lot of hype around this bottle; independently bottled Bowmores have been great, TheWhiskyBarrel has bottled some great casks, and nearly voting-age first fill oloroso malts from Islay do not come up that often.  The price was steep, so I was more than happy to share a bottle with others in order to try this.

I am glad all I did was share with others— this was not quite what I was looking for.  There were some excellent really interesting tropical fruits that I associate with more recent Bowmore, but the overall experience did not feel well integrated.  There was a bit too much of a funk to the oloroso and the bitter herbal notes did not match the tart fruit while the spice and fruit from the oloroso did not fit in.  This was a dram that sounded great, but did not quite live up to the hype.  I did enjoy the nose on it, I loved the impression of autumn, I just with the palate had matched a bit more.

Overall, this was a rich and flavorsome Bowmore that, despite some lovely fruit and great nose, did not really come together for me.  I would happily sip this and I would not feel bad if I had a bottle, but I am not rushing out to grab one off auction.