Bowmore 1993 18 Year Old TWE Masterpieces

NoseGentle and luscious with mango an peach and so

Especially after water - tht reddens into strawberry. Water is needed to get the full textural effect.

Rating

9/10

Comment

FinishDelicate smoke seems to break free.

CommentsSubtle, layered, long. Tropical fruit. Bowmore's are highly prized, grab this while you can.

NoseMedicinal. Distant smoke. Some TCP. Bog myrtle. Pretty restrained at first. Takes time to come to life. A mineral note. Lots of exotic fruit. Passion fruit.

PalateDry, slightly sooty. Fizzy spiciness wrapped in sweet vanilla syrup. Plenty of exotic fruit.

FinishDry. Spicy. White pepper.

CommentsThat whisky needs a dash of water to cut the edges. Clean, big with that wonderful exotic fruit character that some Bowmore proudly display.

As a Frenchman, I cannot not be pleased with the fact that some bottlers in the UK would use Cognac bottles for their whiskies, but as they say, never mind the bottle, let's just drink it! Colour: gold. Nose: this baby starts both smoky (rather coal, soot) and fruity, with all the mangos, oranges, passion fruits and guavas that you’d rather expect from a 1966. A little leather and lime-blossom tea in the background. With water: warning, water kind of kills the fruitiness and rather lets grassy and farmy notes take the lead. Only a little grapefruit remains there, and that just lasts. Mouth (neat): very intense, salty and smoky right from the start, with bags of lemons, wheelbarrows of grapefruits and truckloads of tangerines. Powerful of course but bizarrely, not unquaffable at 61.6%. With water: utterly citrusy and extremely drinkable. Pure fruit juice, did they also add vitamins? Finish: long, sexy, ultra-citrusy. Comments: a great, great white Sancerre – I mean, Bowmore. Well done, London. SGP:656 - 91 points.

Bowmore lovers rarely get excited about the smokiness of their favorite single malt. Rather, they obsess about the tropical fruits that some old bottlings exhibit. Here is one such example. Initially the nose suggests verjus and linseed oil, but the peachiness rather than beachiness emerges. The smoke hits first on the tongue, backed up with mango and violet, then the tropical elements and the smoke play off each other up until the guava-laden finish. 93 Points.