Whisky: Bowmore 30 Year (1989), Mercury's Selection

Country/Region: Scotland/Islay

ABV: 51.8%

Cask: Bourbon Barrel

Age: 30 Years (Distilled 1989, Bottled 2019)

Nose: Maritime and sweet, tide pools, salt ponds, mild grassiness, engine oil, burning compost, white pepper, grain husks, with water chocolate and more meatiness.

Palate: Medium-bodied, mellow and smooth flavors, gentle smoke, cereal, salted fish, honey, sunflower oil, rising earthiness with oil, tractors, slightly farmy funk, acrid industrial bite at the end.

Finish: Long and lingering with tractor oil, earth, and honey.

Score: 7

Mental Image: Oatcakes and Tractors

Narrative & Notes: The aroma took me on a journey from briny salt ponds along the coast, over the mangrove swamps, and across waving fields of grain. It settled on the farm where a mild farmy funk combined with grain husks, tractors, and engine oil. Mellow whiffs of white pepper and meat appeared before dark chocolate coalesced. The mouthfeel was gentle and smooth, with a slightly acrid bite at the end. Flavors of smoke and grain, a mild farmy funk, and a kiss of salt linked the sea and land together. The finish was quite long with industrial, earthy, and honeyed notes.

I was surprised at how little this dram reminded me of Bowmore. It had very little of the fruity maritime notes I associate with the distillery. Considering the grass, citrus, and hints of farmyard funk, I would have guessed this to be a Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, or Bruichladdich. It was pleasantly absent of any of the floral notes for which 1980s Bowmore is infamous— though they can be nice in moderation.

Overall, I enjoyed this dram, but I hoped for a bit more with such an old Bowmore. The wife was not terribly impressed, though she assumed part of that was how the flavor profile reminded her of the “Chinese bean gruel” her mother would make on the weekends with beans, barley, peanuts, and brown sugar. She still enjoyed it, but found it hard to believe it was a Bowmore and that it was three decades old.

Image Credit: Just Whisky Auctions