Bowmore 9 Year (2014), Douglas Laing Cask DL19750 for K&L
Whisky: Bowmore 9 Year (2014), Douglas Laing Cask DL19750 for K&L
Country/Region: Scotland/Islay
ABV: 62.1%
Cask: Refill Barrel
Age: 9 Years (Distilled July 2014, Bottled Nov. 2023)
Nose: Fresh, coastal, creamy, fruity (though slightly artificial), peppery and spirited, vanilla, shoyu, rice crackers; more dirty, industrial elements with time.
Palate: Medium-bodied, oily, spirited, youthful, coastal, tropical fruits, minerals, wispy smoke, subtle beach florals and vanilla.
Finish: Medium to long and quite peppery with wooden popsicle sticks, minerals, and hints of fruit.
Score: 6-7 (81)
Mental Image: Fruit Cannery Staff on a Go-Gurt Break
Narrative & Notes: The aroma was fresh and coastal, like a seaside coffee roasting operation on break with guava and mango flavored yogurts— slightly creamy and a touch artificial. Peppery and spirited, this was youthful and vibrant; vanilla bean faded toward shoyu flavored rice crackers and a more industrial cannery quality. Medium-bodied, oily and spirited, the flavor profile was youthful, peppery, and loaded with Bowmore’s coastal and tropical character. Desiccated driftwood and old beach bonfires were the site of a guava, mango, orange, and pineapple saltwater taffy tasting as coastal brine and minerals loitered around the edges. Wispy smoke and dirtier qualities lingered in the background with fleeting hints of beach florals and vanilla. The finish was medium to long and quite peppery with wooden popsicle sticks, minerals, and hints of fruit.
This was everything I want in a modern Bowmore: soft coastal brine, subtle beach florals, tropical fruits, and wispy hints of smoke— or something dirtier and more industrial. At nine years, the whisky was unmistakably peppery and youthful, as such it lacked some finesse and depth to the flavors. However, there were more than enough virtues to overlook some of the youthfulness and rough edges, though I kept wondering what this would be like with another five or even ten years in the cask— how would it compare to those excellent SMWS casks from February 2004? I could see it being on the road to that hallowed Elysium.
Overall, brilliant fare for the initial price (~$80) and still pretty good price not considered.
