Bowmore 15yo Darkest 43%

Distillery bottlings of younger Bowmore and to be honest younger Bowmore in general have been given a hard time from "people" in the so called know! French Whoores Perfume FWP and all that. And I have to admit at times I have fallen into this trap myself on a few occassions and have probably stayed clear of distillery bottlings for too long. Bar the old stuff which is incredibly good! That said some of the IB bottlings from the early 90's onwards have also been stunning.

Anyway I was given the Bowmore 15yo Darkest blind and I thought it was bloody good. That said it was at the end of a boozy meal so I thought I would try it again in a more controlled environment. Here goes!

Nose: Sweet, smoked Bavarian cheese, brown sugar and syrup. touch of smoked eel! Dry hay and crab meat.

Taste: Soft oranges, soft peat. Very sweet. marmalade, butterscotch angel delight.

Finish: Lightly smoke and a little dry granite. A little bit chewy and touch of grapefruits.

Score: 86/100

Comment: A decent enough dram perhaps not as good as I remembered it. I will quite happily drink this - probably quite a lot of it - but if this had been at 46% or at cask strength this could have been a belter!

Springbank 15yo, 46%

I have always been a huge fan of Springbank ever since the days of the cracking 21yos that were so exceptionally affordable. Oh those were the days.



The current 15 year old I believe is predominately sherry casks and should make for a cracker of a dram. So let's try it.



Nose: Rich toffee caramel, warm oranges and oily. Also a little bit nutty maybe walnut? Certainly a big dram. touch of blackcurrant and a little salty.

Taste: Unmistakably Springbank, hint of smoke, a little woody and then that sherry notes builds up. Slightly coastal and a lot of oiliness. A really chewy dram - quite clawing in the mouth.

Finish: Quite salty, and a little bit drying. caramel and chocolate - like a slightly melted mars bar! A little bit drying.

Comment: I like this a lot - I really do but the slightly clawing note maybe just knocks it down from being a must try! Actually give this ten minutes in the glass and it is a must try!

Score: 90/100

Loch Fyne Whiskies - £41.35
Royal Mile Whiskies - £43.50
Single Malts Direct - £46.99
The Whisky Exchange - £41.49

Aberlour 15yo Sherry Finish

According to the Aberlour website this was initially matured in Bourbon and sherry casks before being finished in "selected" sherry casks! I am sure that I heard a rumour that this was being discontinued so let's try it while I still can!

Nose: Quite closed, sweet and creamy then an oakiness fights through the inititial sherry notes. Given time a little meaty and a faint hint of sulphur - but not unpleasant and also a touch of ginger.

Taste: Rich sherry fruitiness, then drying meaty oranges - more an image of a flavour than an actual flavour! Becomes a little dull after initial fruitiness.

Finish: Lingering flat lemon sherbet and soft musty custard creams.

Comment: Promised a lot but then failled to deliver and rather faded out in quite a dull way!

Score 80/100

Linkwood 15yo G&M 43%

Linkwood has always been a cracking dram but often either underrated or not widely available other than through the F&F bottling or from G&M good to see that they bottled this higher than at 40% going with 43 but wouldn't it have been nice to see this at 46%.

Anyway enough of my spiel - lets taste it:

Nose: Rich, with a warm caramel and appley nose with a touch of citrus

Taste: Dusty, touch woody and a little bit dry. Trying to be fruity but a little bit dull. maybe a hint of woody oranges!

Finish: Dryness continues to last and then a faint orangey note

Comment: Decent enough whisky but nothing short of unremarkable. Non memorable whisky not great and not crap! Well not too crap just dull and disappointing.

Score: 78 / 100

Highland Park 15yo

Found this in the pub and thought I would give it a shot!

Nose: initially the caramel kicks in - then typical hp heather honey nose is there. Hints of the sea and and faint whiff of peat.

Taste: rich rounded bit of soft peat and a cracking orangey note. Quite thick mouthfeel with a little woodiness.

Finish: toffee notes and then some more fruity notes

Comment: not a bad dram - hp never is a bad dram - but nothing overly exciting, would rather save money and buy a 12yo.

Score: 85/100

Imperial 15yo Distillery Bottling

I am a huge fan of all things "Imperial" I am talking about the whisky obviously and not the soap! So when I saw an open bottle of this 15yo I had to try it. Good to see that it is bottled at 46% but by the colour I wouldn't be surprised if there is a wee splash of caramel in it. Top marks must also be given to the label design - which I would say probably merits a place in the top three of crap labels - only defeated by the hideous new Tamdhu labels and the probably worse Battlehill labels from Duncan Taylor!



Nose: Straight from the bottle my suspicions of caramel are confirmed, however this soon passes. Initially quite dry on the nose - smells youthful - malty with a touch of toffee. The burnt toffee not again grows given time.

Taste: Quite thick, more toffee notes becoming creamier with a touch of spice and also slightly bitter notes.

Finish: Finish is fairly short and quite uninspiring.

Comment: Not as fresh and vibrant as most Imperials I have tried, not a bad dram just pretty unmemorable.

Score: 83/100