BOWMORE 12 years old has a place in many hearts as Islay’s ‘medium-peated’ malt. A pronounced iodine character with plenty of pepper, the current 12yo bottling is a welcome return to the classic Bowmores of the 1960s and ’70s, with the emphasis on tropical fruit and smoke. A deserved runner-up in our Whisky of the Year 2014-15 blind tasting.
The heart of the Bowmore range, the 12 year old exhibits some beautiful coastal notes with a gentle peat, it is the balance that the floral element presents that makes this a great entry bottling for Bowmore.
Reflecting the essence of Bowmore – thrashing waves, windswept landscapes and generations of tradition – our 12 years old is both complex and perfectly balanced. Subtle lemon and sweet heather honey complement Bowmore’s trademark peat smoke, leading to a delicious, long and mellow finish.
The Bowmore Distillery was established in 1779 by a local merchant, John P. Simson, before passing into the ownership of the Mutter family, a family of German descent. James Mutter, head of the family, also had farming interests and was Vice Consul representing the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, and Brazil through their Glasgow consulates. There are no records that pinpoint the date Mutter acquired the distillery from Simpson. Mutter would introduce a number of innovative processes to the distillery during his tenure and even had a small iron steam ship built to import barley and coal from the mainland and to export the whisky to Glasgow. A bottle of 1850 Bowmore Single Malt was sold at an auction in September 2007 for £29,400.
