Bowmore 19 Year Old 1997 Adelphi

We know Adelphi not only as the independent bottler, but also as the people behind the Ardnamurchan Distillery. As bottlers, they have almost every distillery on the market, always in single cask, without chill filtration or coloring. This is a Bowmore from 1997 that slept for almost two decades on a refill sherry cask. I’m looking forward to this one. Look at that color!

It reminds me quite a bit of that 13 years old from Commitment to Malt that I recently tried. But this is rounder, more relaxed and shows dark and sweet fruit, maritime notes and some tobacco leaves and freshly polished leather. Butterscotch! This is complex.

It does not burn, despite the high ABV. Sturdy, sure, but not impossible. Again very fruity – in that sense it’s quite different from the aforementioned bottling – with nice peat smoke. Here, the fruit dominates, which is quite pleasant. Apricots, mango, but also simply oloroso sherry and brown sugar. A little saltiness, but it does not stand a chance against the truckload of sweetness.

Ah… that finish, look at that. This puts a smile on my face. Long, warm, dark and sweet with a little bitterness and salty note. Very complete dram if you ask me.

Grand Bowmore that does not disappoint. Au contraire. But it is not cheap. To be found for around 215 EUR. Thanks, Marcel.

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