Bowmore 25 Year

Burnt umber in color, showing thick legs that form quickly after swirling. The aroma presents sweetness with fire embers, grilled pineapple, smoke, vanilla, hay, leather, and a faint mustiness reminiscent of old books. The palate delivers a surprisingly bold sweetness, dominated by cherries and red currants, with oak spice, campfire smoke, tropical notes like mango, limoncello, and sea-salted dark chocolates. It finishes medium-long with lingering alcohol burn and oak spice, gradually introducing cinnamon without a drastic flavor shift, content to maintain its deliciousness. This is an excellent scotch, unfortunately requiring 25 years to achieve such quality, making it well worth the wait despite potentially intimidating price tags. I would consider purchasing if found on sale.

A quarter-century age statement is always a positive indicator for a whisky, especially from the peat capital, Islay. This 25-year-old Bowmore is a luxurious dram. The official description states this whisky was fully matured for 25 years in former bourbon and Spanish sherry casks, bottled at 43% ABV, and has a beautiful tawny hue. On the nose, it begins grassy and peaty, reminiscent of burnt hay and leather, like a leather jacket. A sweetness emerges, with notes of cherries and mint liqueur, alongside earthy undertones. It distinctly smells of raw, uncooked rice. The aroma also evoked old paper or envelopes from a law office. After a few sips, it transformed into the most sophisticated toffee imaginable, like butterscotch. The palate is surprisingly and deliciously sweet, especially after the nose. It features cherry syrup, limoncello, and sawdust, with prominent chocolate notes. The aftertaste is peaty and fantastic, with hints of cigarettes, ashtray, and pepper. It has a dry, woody character. While not overwhelmingly complex, it is very well executed. Overall, this is a quite elegant and intricate dram. I particularly appreciated how the peatiness evolved into a leather note while retaining its smokiness after 25 years. The cherry sweetness was wonderful and appeared unexpectedly. My rating for this amazing expression is 93 out of 100.

Hmm, peat, nutty vanilla, slightly sulfuric/tanninic sherry. Initially, I thought slightly over-oaked. Unlike some drams where the things that bug me get more and more prominent, this whiskey I settle into more and more. Prunes, dark fruit, very interesting dram. It's good, but I'm slightly torn on how good. I think it's one you really need a bottle to work through over time, perhaps. It's more complex and has more depth than the 18 from memory, but not sure about the balance of certain aspects. By the end, I was thinking definitely a 4.25.

This pour from the club offered notes of smoke, chocolate, raspberries, mangoes, strawberries, peaches, oranges, caramel, pears, kiwis, papayas, pineapples, cherries, vanilla, lavender, and toffee on the nose. The palate featured mangoes, smoke, salted caramel, chocolate, raisins, papayas, flowers, bacon, tinned peaches, oranges, pineapples, brine, and salmon. The finish included mangoes, tar, iodine, chocolate, sea salt, strawberries, caramel, cinnamon, peaches, dill, cod, and raisins.

If I had paid $500 for this bottle, I'd rate it a 2, but since I didn't, it's pretty good. Lagavulin 16 is superior. I have a Talisker 30 that is magnificent. This is really good but a bit thin. It's nice, but at 25 years old, it should be amazing. As this was shared with me, it gets a 4+; however, I give the Talisker 30 a 5, and I paid for that. If I had paid for this what I just saw online, I'd be a little annoyed.

★★★★½ Bowmore Vertical 4 of 7 That's good and pricey! I don't think I'll ever be wealthy enough to purchase a whisky of that caliber. It costs more than the 25 Small Batch, yet I unfortunately found it less captivating. It is an exceptionally well-balanced whisky where the flavors complement each other flawlessly, but it lacks the WOW factor I experienced a year and a half ago with its namesake.