Two decades, a stopover and a flight later, I got to visit my home away from home. Although I didn’t plan on rewinding through memory lane, I did get to set foot into a few travel retail stores. It had been a year since I travelled, and  this was incentive to make the most of this opportunity. I had to get MORE, (**dad joke incoming**) the outcome, a coupla BowMORE!!

Bowmore had recently come up with a travel retail quadfecta, the Apellations Collection – consisting of 14, 16, 19 and 21 YO expressions that are influenced by some of the wine capitals of Europe. These were meant to showcase the fusion of barrels sourced from the wine regions of Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Duoro valleys with those indigenous to the distillery.

This 14 YO Bowmore is the first of the series, matured in american exbourbon barrels for a minimum of 12 years and then finished for the rest in Bordeaux barriques – the french equivalent of a 225 litre cask. These barrels are smaller than the usual 500 litre sherry butt, thus promoting a greater wine to wood interaction. The bottle, although adorning the typical bowmore shape, comes in a rather lovely dark wine, black and blue fusion of colours that make it catch the eye.

ABV : 43%

Eye : Chestnutolorroso sherry | Caramel Colouring

Nose : Spice, infused with olive brine and green pepper. Caramel, smoke and vanilla cake; cantaloupe and tobacco with a whisper of red berries . Some mild white pepper and charred wood.

Taste : Warm caramel with a touch of brine. Earthy on the palate, mushrooms interleaved with papaya drizzled with honey. There’s a hint of nectarines, leather, and peat combined with some deep wine influences and dark chocolate that leaves you with a bit of dryness, some smoke and char.

Finish : Warm and tropical; papaya with mild traces of green pear and dark chocolate.

This travel exclusive 14 YO is quite rounded and velvety; with decent depth and complexity. The Bordeaux influence introduces some dried fruits in the midst of all that peat and a dryness that is quite pronounced. I do wish the whisky was a bit more spread out with a bit more breadth.

At AUD $ 104, it’s not too bad, but would have sung if that bordeaux cask had stained the whisky just an inch more! I don’t think this is a whisky that would readily bode with ones taste buds. This one needs some time to acquaint, possibly a little time to either open it up or have it breathe. I found it a tad above average but not one that really stood out.

Slainte!