Distilled on a very, very cold (as Bowmore like to emphasise) 22nd December in 1961, when 500 litres of new make were filled into a pair of American oak bourbon hogsheads. After 50 long years in Bowmore’s famous No. 1 Vaults, the outturn was just 200 bottles of exceptionally aged single malt (just 50 of which are being released each year between 2013 and 2016). At the time of writing this is the oldest publicly availableIslay ever released (not counting the 12 bottles of 54 year old Bowmore only available through auction or from the distillery itself).
The cabinet is the work of acclaimed woodsmith Peter Toaig and is hewn from the finest Scottish Burr Elm, one of just 14 species of tree native to Scotland. The decanter bottle is also topped with a solid silver neck collar and stopper, fashioned by sixth generation silversmith, Thomas Fattorini. We were lucky enough to taste the Bowmore 50 Year Old at the launch, our tasting note can be found below.
Testing note~ Nose: Dry and intensely sweet, this can’t be fifty years old! Slivers of desiccated pineapple and sweet yoghurt at the fore, with beautifully vanilla-rich bourbon notes. The toasty white oak meets fizzy cola bottle sweet... Old Bowmore so frequently seems to be a marvellous cocktail of old-fashioned sweets, conjuring up images tuck shops. The nose appears so young, so perfumed. After time in the glass it becomes distinctly maritime, like a carpenter’s workshop by the sea. Marzipan develops, with something slightly mushroom-like. Delicious! Palate: Incredible sweetness to the fore, perfumed and floral. The pineapple remains, but this time there’s berry compote, with lashings of blackcurrant cordial. Then Fishermen’s Friend, sea salt, violet petals and white pepper. As the whisky develops on the palate, there is just a hint of dried porcini mushroom, a touch of cardamom and sugared peel. The palate is youthful and spritely, supremely balanced with soft, refined notes of Bowmore’s trademark muscular smoke. Finish: The finish is long, very long in fact, thanks to tannic, puckering oak and uniquely fruity acidity. It concludes with a soupcon of potpourri and cherry eau-de-vie. Overall: The nose on this one is absolutely sublime, one of the richest, most deftly balanced whisky noses I’ve ever tried in fact. The youth and character is just astounding; one would simply never guess it had spent more than half a century in oak.