Bowmore’s whisky is certainly peated and unmistakably Islay. However, its notes tend towards smoke and lighter sugars instead of vegetal peat and seaweed. Its water traverses a 19-kilometer journey over all of the faces of Islay, starting in limestone and sandstone hills on the east coast, and then flowing over heather in the hills and peat in the bogs alike. Bowmore’s warehouse is located on the shores of stormy Loch Indaal rather than the Atlantic Ocean, and 40% of its barley is malted on-site. All of these factors combine to yield a well-balanced, not peat-dominated, flavor profile. If peat explosions like Ardbeg are not your thing, try a Bowmore. BOWMORE 18 YEARS Cosseted away in the finest, hand-selected oak casks and allowed to mature at its own sedate pace, this is one of the most remarkable and perfectly balanced malts of its kind; a true rarity to be sought after and then savoured.
