Today I am tasting two “sister” casks bottled by Wemyss Malts, both from Bowmore, but they are quite different, as you’re about to see. Wemyss usually bottles its single casks at 46% so no CS single cask bottling here, but still they offer quite a rich profile, and are both very good IMHO.
Wemyss Malts Bowmore 18 Year Old 1997 ‘Shellfish Platter’, 46% abv, £71.56
Nose: Quite mineraly and maritime, with brine, seaweed, shellfish,and a nice warm smoke, further nosing reveals some wet hay, a sweet malty note , and some melon and passion fruit add a nice exotic touch.
Palate: A nice smoky-fruity balance over here , with citrus (mostly ripe orange, but some red grapefruit too), again we are on the beach with brine, lovely peat smoke, and oyster / shellfish notes, and more of the lovely red grapefruit sweet/bitter notes with nice wood influence, and ash.
Finish: bitter ash, Grapefruit pith.
A nice maritime dram, with nice smoke, and some lovely fruitiness. still available here, if you’re interested.
Score: 86/100
Wemyss Malts Bowmore 25 yo, 1990, ‘Briny Tangle’ , 46% abv, £250
Aged in a Hogshead cask for 25 year.
Nose: Well, this is quite a different animal… Sherry here we go. It’s rich, and thicker, with caramelized apples on a stick, sugar glazed, cinnamon, allspice, some ginger, and some coastal qualities too, but not as pronounced as the 1997… a bit waxy too.
Palate: starts sweet, with the apple, sweet smoke, and ripe orange and wax, then it gets briny, and peatier, with some medicinal qualities , pepper, and hint of chilly.
Finish: sweet peat, brine, tar and hints of apple crumble and wax.
A delicious whisky indeed, rich, and thick, with quite a different profile from its younger brother. Love this one. (although the pricing, is way up there… 250 quid?! why!?? )
Score: 89/100
Lovely, clean bowmore (no FWP, yay!) for you to enjoy. Surprisingly both are still available online.