Bowmore 10 YO – The Devil’s Casks Small Batch Release II

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark and fruity. At first there’s a thick and dark layer with raisins, overripe plums, tobacco and dark syryp. There’s a mild menthol layer on top and underneath lies a fresher tropical fruitiness and a drop of lemon. When it settles a peatiness start to emerge from behind. It’s quite subdued and never really breaks through the thick sherry influence. It’s more of a side note which complements the main flavours. There’s a slight minerality to it and there’s a brine note coming through every now and then. This is a great nose which doesn’t change a lot, it just stays the same throughout the journey.

Mouth: It starts out with a sweet dark layer in the middle and a quite noticable lemon sourness in the back. Soon the peatiness start to push through together with a tropical fruitiness around the edges. There are still raisins, plums and tobacco and a big bag of mixed dried fruits of all kinds. The balance between the peat, the sherry influence and the Bowmore house-style is amazing at this point. With time the menthol note becomes a spicyness which spreads out nicely over the palate. There’s an espresso bitterness coming through in the back as well.

Finish: The transition reveals some oak and some minerals before the dark fruits and the sweetness return. The peatiness is residing in the back together with the oakiness. With time the flavours switch places and the sherry notes make their way to the back and give room to both the oak and the peat. The tropical fruits and the lemon note return at this point and the middle part of the finish is a pure delight. When it starts to fade the coffee note returns and the oakiness takes over. It’s a nice enough oakiness but it’s not the best part of the otherwise lovely journey. This is a fantastic whisky. It’s not perfect as a whole, but offers so many great things throughout.

Additional information
This is the second release in the Devil’s Casks series. It’s aged in first fill ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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