Bowmore 1964

Jack Bettridge
Posted: December 31, 1969

Posted October 4, 2002, 3:30 p.m. e.s.t. Lovers of Sherry-casked Scotch have a treat in store for them, provided they can find it and afford its high tariff. Islay's Bowmore has just released Bowmore Fino Sherry Cask 1964, a 37-year-old relic from when Morrison Bowmore acquired the distillery. Two casks previously used to store Sherry somehow survived over the years. Having not been bottled as single malt earlier, they were in danger of being sold off for blends as they ceased to fit the usual Bowmore taste profile. But alert warehouse personnel saw their potential and ushered them to ultimate maturity. The result is an exquisite quaff that almost moves into another category of spirit. Much of the peat so prominent to Bowmore has disappeared, replaced by a fine candy flavor. The Fino Sherry is especially notable because it comes from a time when Sherry casks were not made expressly for Scotch. Today the words "Sherry cask" usually designate the point of origin, but don't necessarily mean any Sherry was ever in the barrel. These casks did 50 years of real duty with Sherry inside. Ironically, they came from oak grown in America, not Spain. The two casks yielded a total of 300 bottles of Scotch, 40 of which will reach our shores at the price of $1,500 a bottle. That may not sound as steep when you consider a bottle of Bowmore from 1890 set a record last year, selling at auction for $21,736. This expression is part one of a trio that will include a Bourbon-cask and an Oloroso-cask whisky, both from the same year. Bowmore has also released its "new and improved version" of its 25-year-old. The upshot is more concentration of Sherry on the already formidable Scotch. Another change is in packaging. The new 25-year-old comes in a clear bottle in a wood case, rather than in the blue ceramic decanter previously used. TASTING NOTES COLOR: Amber, not as dark as might be expected from its age. NOSE: Sweet and inviting, candied like a Christmas fruitcake. A hint of Armagnac. MOUTH: Fruitcake continues and specifies itself as passion fruit, orange, pear and melon, joined with lush chocolate flavors, toffee, leather, nuts and cigar tobacco. FINISH: Fine, smooth and long, with a hint of anise fitting into the wondrous mix. It ends with a touch of chalk.



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