Bowmore 27 Year Old Timeless Series (2020) 70cl
Part of the Bowmore Timeless series and limited to just 3000 bottles. This 27 year old single malt, is a bottling at a cask strength of 52.7%. A true limited edition whisky.
Bowmore Timeless 27 spend its first fifteen years of its life in a mixture of sherry and bourbon casks before moving into first fill oloroso butts where it remains for the next twelve years. Described by Bowmore as a “worthy legacy” single malt.
This is a 27 year old single malt from Islay's Bowmore Distillery, which has been released as part of the very snazzy Timeless Series. It was matured initially in sherry and ex-bourbon casks for 15 years, and then moved over to first-fill Oloroso sherry butts for another 12 years. Following that, the whisky was bottled up at cask strength, and has been presented in a very stylish box alongside an actual hourglass! It counts down three minutes, which is time enough for you to really savour the whisky's nose before you take your first sip.
- Bowmore Timeless 27 year old whisky greets you with a full-bodied, fruit driven nose with notes of prunes, sultanas and stone fruits
- The oloroso influence is detected straight away leading into candied oranges and toffee
- The palate is everything and more that we have come to love. Rich and warming peat blended incredibly with chocolate notes and more dried fruits
- The finish is long and powerful with a real oloroso kick
About Bowmore
Bowmore is located in the centre of Islay and occupies a central role in the island’s whiskies. The distillery has retained its own floor maltings which account for 40% of its needs and when mixed with malt from the mainland results in a medium peated spirit.
Its smoke, reminiscent of beach bonfires, mingles with a distinctly saline note, flowers, cereal, citrus and underneath a touch of tropical fruit. It is this character which, when matured in refill casks for a long period of time, becomes the primary aroma, the peat seemingly disappearing completely.
A significant percentage of the make is aged in ex-Sherry butts which take Bowmore off in another direction – one of dark fruits, chocolate, coffee, citrus and smoke. The extensive range picks and chooses between these extremes. A significant percentage of the distillery’s whisky is matured on the island, with the distillery’s No.1 Vaults being held to have the most extraordinary microclimate. This chill, damp environment – the vault is below the level of Loch Indaal and one wall makes up the town’s sea wall – is seen as ideal for long-term maturation.
There are claims that Bowmore’s distillery started operation in 1779, but there’s no evidence of whisky being made until a certain John Simpson took out a licence in 1816. It wouldn’t be until 1837 when the Glasgow blending firm, Wm & Jas. Mutter took over that it began to gain traction and reputation. In 1841, Windsor Castle requested a cask of Bowmore – this being a time when the English palate was considered too delicate (or Scotch too bold). As often happens, the distillery passed through a number of hands before in this case it was bought, in 1963, by broker Stanley P. Morrison. The Morrison era saw the start of what is recognised as a legendary period in Bowmore’s history – its mid-1960s bottlings are legendary.
The distillery was substantially modernised with an innovative heat recovery system not only cutting down on fuel bills but creating sufficient excess hot water to heat the town’s swimming pool. In 1989 the Japanese distiller Suntory bought a stake in the distillery and took full control in 1994, the year after the ground-breaking Black Bowmore was launched. This 100% Sherry-aged release was sold for what at the time was seen as the ludicrously inflated price of £100.
In 2014 Suntory bought Jim Beam which, from an Islay perspective, sees two of Islay’s most iconic single malts (Bowmore and Laphroaig) under the same ownership.
52.7% ABV
70cl
