Bowmore 12 Years Old Dumpy Brown Bottle - Gold label - Cork stopper 40% NV

Professionele reviews

Serge Valentin (92)

There's many variations of this iteration of the 12yo, with some being a lot better than others in my experience. Of course that can be due to changing production at Bowmore, but I think these bottles also tend to show quite changeable levels of OBE (old bottle effect) these days too. But from this time period and in a litre bottle at 43%, our hopes are high… Colour: deep gold. Nose: we need not fear! There is OBE for sure, with these wee hints of metal polish and soot, but they are in fact rather thrilling with this combination of dried exotic fruits, tropical fruit teas, very gentle, pristinely drying peat smoke and then more earthy things like medicinal roots, honey roasted vegetables, tar extract and medicinal herbs such as verbena and wormwood. I also find tiny notes of honey and waxy lemons - a gorgeous nose! Mouth: superb and surprisingly peaty, many various exotic fruit notes but still tending towards dried and crystallised ones, and also those lovely exotic fruit tea impressions. Within all that there's also these deified Bowmore passionfruit notes. We should be comfortably in 1960s distillate here and it shows. I also find a little more sherry influence than I'd anticipate in these batches usually and here it adds a gorgeous, resinous and sharp saltiness to the palate. Finish: long, stunningly peaty, fresh, nervously coastal and showcasing many beautiful preserved exotic fruit notes. Still pin sharp and super fresh! Comments: no quibbles here, a benchmark example of fruity old school Bowmore and delivered with remarkable freshness and power. Probably an example in this series where the time in bottle delivered only positive results.