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Bowmore used to be regarded in some quarters as piggy-in-the-middle; a bit of a compromise between the two extremes of the Islay tastes, but certainly in recent years this seems to me to be rather unfair. I’ve enjoyed it on a number of occasions, particularly since a visit to Islay some years ago, and Mike and I attended a tasting of three Bowmore bottlings in the Spring, but given the comparative nature of my current enquiries into Islay malts I was interested to see whether it would stand out as well as the others.

Bowmore 12 year old, 40%

Colour

Amber.

Nose

Peaty, warm soft smoke.

Taste

Initial taste
Again warm and smoky, an enveloping taste that seductively wraps itself around your tongue, leaving a comfortable feeling like the memories evoked by the still-warm remains of a peat fire.

Later taste
An unexpected sweetness briefly appears and then recedes again, replaced by hints of liquorice - but not too much. The alcohol tastes stronger than its rating, maintain the warmth. Some oak coming through the smoke. There is none of the saltiness of Bunnahabhain but it would be wrong to think of it as being one-dimensional as the peat smoke is a subtle thing, changing wraith-like in your senses and never quite allowing you to pin it down.

Finish

The intensity isn’t as long as you might expect - as the alcohol dies back it seems to take the main tastes with it - but the remnant background flavour remains in place for rather longer to remind you that another sip is waiting.

Conclusion

While very different from its neighbours it has a distinctive feel of its own. Perhaps not as complex as Lagavulin or Laphroaig nor as clean as Bruichladdich or Caol Ila, this is nevertheless a quality dram. Ideal for escaping a cold winter’s night. I know from experience that the 15 year-old is even better but that is for another tasting note. In my own preferences in this raft of tastings I’d say it is above Laphroaig and possibly Bunnahabhain, but below Caol Ila and Lagavulin. There would be times I’d prefer Ardbeg and others where I might prefer this Bowmore.