This is a recap of a blind whisky tasting shoot-out between sixteen Bowmore expressions. The results were very satisfying and confirm a lot of previous thoughts.  

So, to summarize, me and my friend set out to do a massive Bowmore testing since we both really enjoy whisky in general, and Bowmore specifically. Together we have accumulated sixteen different variations, which was the perfect amount for a four-bracket blind shoot-out to test our palates and to see whether we were affected by the age and price of a bottle when choosing favourites.

The favourites and the dislikes

Doing this kind of thing is a bit frightening because you have no idea what whiskies you choose. When it comes to preferred whisky styles, I have no preference. I love a sherried Speyside whisky as much as a Kentucky straight bourbon or a peated Islay-style one. I do tend to prefer whisky matured in good bourbon casks though. Going in, my favourite Bowmores were the 10 YO Tempest Batch VI, the standard 18 YO, and the 15 YO – Darkest (which is the expression that is most celebrated in the whisky world, disregarding Black Bowmore and other unreachables). And at the other end of the spectrum were the No.1, which I’ve hated on so many times in whisky groups and to friends. When someone asks me about choosing a Bowmore my general answer would be “Anything except the Bowmore No.1. It’s crap”.

My friend likes sherried scotches. He also loves peated Islay malts. That combination is certainly covered in the Bowmore library. His favourites going in to this exercise were the 10 YO – Inspired by the Devil’s Casks and the new travel retail exclusive 18 YO – Deep & Complex. He really didn’t have a negative to start with. Whereas I had tasted all the expressions before, there were some that my friend tasted for the first time.

The method

The YouTube whisky review show “Scotch Test Dummies” have done a couple of blind shoot-outs and the method used here is theirs. Four brackets with four whiskies in each and the winners battle it out in a grand finale. This will not give a 1-16 ranking of the expressions, but will give the best expression, and individual lists within the brackets. This is a good method for finding your favourite whisky. It would not be possible to test sixteen whiskies in one huge line since the flavours easily overthrow each other while tasting. Especially since this is sixteen whiskies derived from the same distillery and the same distillate.

We chose not to add any water to any of the whiskies, because we wanted to do this in their original state. One could argue that some expressions are better with a dash of water, but since the tasting samples were so small (~7.5 ml) the water added would be hard to control.

The preparations

I took sixteen 30 ml brown bottles and marked them with numbers. I then wrote down all the variations in a list connected to numbers 1-16. Then I randomized the list with a randomizer on my computer. After that I just matched the numbers on the bottles and filled them with the connected whisky.

Then, when I arrived at my friend’s house, I put the bottles in random order with the number turned away, and gave him the task to draw bottles at random and mark them with letters (hiding the number), and writing down the number which coincided with the letter. So, when this was done, I had a list of which whisky had a certain number, and he had a list of which numbers were connected to the letters. This meant that none of us knew which whiskies were in the bottles without combining the lists.

Finally, we put all the bottles randomly with the letters turned away and drew all the brackets by choosing one at the time, going back and forth between each other.

Bracket 1

The bracket
H. Legend
A. 15 YO – Golden and Elegant
M. 10 YO – Inspired by the Devil’s Casks
N. 17 YO – White Sands

My result
1. 15 YO – Golden and Elegant
2. 10 YO – Inspired by the Devil’s Casks
3. 17 YO – White Sands
4. Legend

My friend’s result
1. 10 YO – Inspired by the Devil’s Casks
2. 17 YO – White Sands
3. 15 YO – Golden and Elegant
4. Legend

Reflections
We were in absolute agreeance that the H (Legend) was dead last and came forward as flat in smell and taste compared to the other three. For me, the order of the other ones was a little bit harder. M (10 YO – Inspired by the devil’s casks) was a clear winner for my friend, but to me, it tasted a bit manufactured, like the sherry was put on top of the whisky instead of within, together with the rest of the flavours. This, in combination with me often preferring bourbon cask matured whiskies, made it no big surprise that whisky A (15 YO – Golden & Elegant) was my top choice when we unveiled the results. The N (17 YO – White Sands) is also a bourbon cask matured expression, but the maturation must have been in lesser casks (probably refills), because it didn’t give a very vibrant taste and smell compared to the A (15 YO – Golden & Elegant). Well, maybe they just finished the A (15 YO – Golden & Elegant) in good casks fooling me completely, but it really doesn’t matter, because it definitely tasted better.

Bracket 2

The bracket
G. 15 YO – Darkest
E. Vault Edition No. 1 – Atlantic Sea Salt
J. Gold Reef
C. 12 YO

My result
1. 15 YO – Darkest
2. Gold Reef
3. Vault Edition No. 1 – Atlantic Sea Salt
4. 12 YO

My friend’s result
1. 15 YO – Darkest
2. Gold Reef
3. 12 YO
4. Vault Edition No. 1 – Atlantic Sea Salt

Reflections
The G (15 YO – Darkest) was the clear winner for the both of us, and J (Gold Reef) was a clear second, but not reaching all the way. Both J (Golf Reef) and E (Vault Edition No.1 – Atlantic Sea Salt) is matured in ex-bourbon casks, which should put them high in my book. The first one is matured in first fill casks, and the latter in “fine oak casks” (which in my book means refills). The E (Vault Edition No.1 – Atlantic Sea Salt) is also a cask strength expression, which means that this should be the next best thing to my precious 10 YO – Tempest VI, but there are some pieces missing in this one. Rightly so I say, since it is supposed to focus on the salty side of Bowmore toning the other flavours down. The J (Gold Reef) is a great dram, but lacks a little (probably related to maturation years) to compete with the G (15 YO – Darkest). Lastly some words about the C (12 YO). I’ve always thought it was a good dram, but with a small “hole” in the palate somewhere between the mouthfeel and the finish. It’s impossible to recognize such details while blind tasting several expressions, but it was clear to both of us that it didn’t hold up well to the top two in this bracket.

Bracket 3

The bracket
B. 10 YO – Tempest Batch VI
I. 25 YO
L. No.1
D. 18 YO

My list
1. 10 YO – Tempest Batch VI
2. 18 YO
3. 25 YO
4. No.1

My friend’s list
1. 25 YO
2. 18 YO
3. 10 YO – Tempest Batch VI
4. No.1

Reflections
This group was somewhat unfortunately randomized. My two favourites combined with the only Bowmore expression I really dislike and add to that the oldest, most expensive whisky in the shoot-out.

Let’s start with the L (No.1). This was the first whisky we chose to reveal after the final was done, because both of us agreed that this was the worst of the sixteen. I was extremely happy when it was the No.1, because it would have been a horror to have it win or to be in the finals. This was proof that I was right all along. It truly is the worst they offer (according to me, and now also to my friend).

The other three was really hard though. It was a nightmare to choose which ones were the best. It is very satisfying that I chose my two favourite expressions as the top ones, and in the correct order. B (The Tempest Batch VI), being cask strength, just seem to vibrate of tropical fruity goodness and a good dollop of peat. One could argue that the high ABV would give this away, but when you do a big shoot-out, the alcohol is very toned down, and the spicy notes from the oak and from the ABV is hard to distinguish between. You certainly don’t miss any flavours, but the burn is reduced. My friend agreed that this was probably the hardest choice (disregarding the No.1) and when it comes to his list the order was very neat, stacking ages from top to bottom, sending the I (25 YO) to the finals, with the D (18 YO) as the runner up.

Bracket 4

The bracket
K. Black Rock
O. Small Batch
P. 18 YO – Deep & Complex
F. 10 YO – Dark & Intense

My result
1. 18 YO – Deep & Complex
2. Black Rock
3. Small Batch
4. 10 YO – Dark & Intense

My friend’s result
1. 10 YO – Dark & Intense
2. 18 YO – Deep & Complex
3. Black Rock
4. Small Batch

Reflections
The last bracket was probably the most diverse and probably the easiest to navigate through, because of the variety of whiskies within. To me, the biggest surprise was that I put A (10 YO – Dark & Intense) last, because I generally recommend this as good value for money. Even though it’s last, I’m probably correct, since this was my friend’s top choice, but I would have pegged it as a better tasting whisky than both K (Black Rock) and O (Small Batch). The winner P (18 YO – Deep & Complex) has the same characteristics as the 10 YO – Inspired by the Devil’s Casks, in the way it feels manufactured. But in this bracket, the age does help it to the top, creating a more complex baseline than the others. The top results of my friend’s list are interesting, since the P (18 YO – Deep & Complex) lost to the F (10 YO – Dark & Intense). I would attribute it to the shorter aging giving the latter a more intense peat character, but who knows? Taste is very subjective.

The grand finale

My final bracket

A. 15 YO – Golden & Elegant
G. 15 YO – Darkest
B. 10 YO – Tempest Batch VI
P. 18 YO – Deep & Complex

My result
1. 10 YO – Tempest Batch VI
2. 15 YO – Darkest
3. 18 YO – Deep & Complex
4. 15 YO – Golden & Elegant

My friend’s final bracket

M. 10 YO – Inspired by the Devil’s Casks
G. 15 YO – Darkest
I. 25 YO
F. 10 YO – Dark & Intense

 My friend’s result
1. 10 YO – Inspired by the Devil’s Casks
2. 15 YO – Darkest
3. 10 YO – Dark & Intense
4. 25 YO

Reflections
The result is amazing. Both got their favourite expressions on top, and let me confirm that it’s impossible to figure out which whiskies are behind the letters. There are lots of differences in taste and smell, and of course it’s possible to taste which cask type that was involved in making a whisky. But there are several similarities in many of the whiskies and the number of expressions in this shoot-out means that there are multiple choices that could throw you off if you should guess which whisky you are tasting. With that said, it’s very nice to just be able to judge a whisky by itself, and in the context of other expressions within the same whisky brand.

The runner up was also a confirmation. The G (15 YO – Darkest) is widely known as one of Bowmore’s best feats. As an example, I read an interview with Jim Taggart, who is the master craftsman at the Arran Distillery. He previously worked at Bowmore for 30 years before switching to Arran. He listed the whiskies (any brand) he wished he had been involved in creating because of their greatness. And on that short list the 15 YO Darkest was included.

It has to be said, as a conclusion to this tasting experience, that out of the four brackets, the only whisky both me and my friend sent to the final was G (The 15 YO – Darkest). This shows how subjective rating a whisky and its quality can be. It seems that age helps, since all seven whiskies in the final comes with an age statement. That age doesn’t have to be a million years, but at least 10 years in a cask helps to make a better end result. But please take note: The final bracket is probably not the top four Bowmore expressions for each of us. It’s a possibility that a runner up in a group is better than all the other brackets combined, but it’s the nature of the shoot-out.

If you ever get the chance to do something like this, you should. It’s extremely educational as to what you like in a whisky. It doesn’t have to be a single distillery. Do it with peated whiskies, with bourbons or just with sixteen different whiskies of all kinds. It’s a fun way of learning what you really like, without being biased by marketing, ABV, age statements and price.

Published 2018-11-21