Bowmore 10 Year Old 2013 Douglas Laing Old Particular Single Bourbon Cask Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2023) 70cl
Single Cask Bowmore! Yes please.... and 298 bottles out of this cask of 10 Years.
Bottled in 2023 and distilled in 2013 here is a jucier version of what we are used to with the 12 and 15 but in a punchier yet more flavoursome version of what we all experience.
This 10-year-old Bowmore matured in a refill hogshead and was bottled by the independent bottler Douglas Laing. DOUGLAS LAING's Old Particular consists of a range of hand-picked single cask malts from all over Scotland. This means that each bottle comes from just one single cask, without being mixed with any others. In addition, the experts at DOUGLAS LAING - in keeping with the company philosophy - bottle the whisky uncoloured and not chill-filtered. This means that the natural oils, fats and enzymes contained in the whisky remain in the whisky and make their own special contribution to the personal touch of the malt.
ABOUT BOWMORE:
The name Bowmore is associated with one of the longest stories involving whisky from the island of Islay in Scotland. In 1779, Bowmore was the first legally licensed distillery on Islay and the second in the whole of Scotland. The name Bowmore is still well known today and there is hardly a collection that does not contain at least one Bowmore.
From smaller budget offerings to high-priced luxury examples, Bowmore has something for everyone. All whiskies mature in the vaults, which are located right on the edge of the sea and whose waves constantly hit the outside walls of the storage rooms. This is intended to give Bowmore whisky a very special taste and contributes to the uniqueness of the whiskies.
In addition to the somewhat conventional vintages, Bowmore also occasionally presents almost unique examples. Whether in the Timeless Series with 27 and 31 year old whiskies or the Black Series. The latter in particular is one of the most sought-after and yet hardest to get hold of whisky series of all time. The last edition contained only 159 bottles of 50-year-old whisky from the island of Islay.
TASTING NOTES
Nose : Fresh sea spray and peaty malt give way to buttery oat biscuits
Taste : Gentle peat smoke with dry grass, damp ash and a vanilla oak flavour
Finish : Oily and coastal finish with hemp rope and charred oak with a honeycomb sweetness
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.
48.4% ABV
70cl
