Bowmore 2001 21 Year Old Xtra Old Particular for The Whisky Exchange

Nose

Rich fruitcake, liquorice sticks and touches of tar to start. The tars to burning peat, with wisps of quickly joined by barbecued apples and a hint of charred mango. With time, the fruit builds. Apple compote and tropical fruit chews appear alongside a touch of creosote and sea-drenched rope.

Palate

Distinctly Bowmore, but with a generous dose of old sherry cask. Sea spray, fruit and flowers are wrapped in raising jam and doused with liquorice and blackcurrant sauce. Tarry notes sit around the edges, balanced by sticky dried fruit: dates and prunes. Smoke is subdued but ever-present: old stoves and distant peat-smoking chimneys.

Finish

Earthy peat, liquorice sticks and a tingle of spice, all slowly fading to leave fruit cake spread with butter and apple jam.

The nose opens immediately with stewed fruits, fallen pears and red apples alongside new leather and wet oak. the palate provides a sherried Islay quality with cured meat, blackcurrants and a rosemary jus. the finish is long with beautiful salty brine, gentle peat and a big fruity finale.