Bowmore Darkest

General description

Darkest before the dawn.

Nose

Well, I’m not to the magical 250, but I’m reaching 200 (Abov owe me two) and so to one of my most wished for and anticipated drams. The last time was a bit of disaster with an old-label Bowmore 12 not working at all. So hopefully, for No. 200, come on… The nose… Light smoke and a little whiff of peat, and then restrained fruit quite low and back-seated. Vanilla creams, sprightly sultana/raisin coming through as it warms. A slight leatheriness and maybe even a hint of lemon. The leather is like new shoes fresh from the box and this older version of 15 is really displaying the distiller’s craft. Then sugary bright, sweet grape to grapefruit with a smidge of chocolate sprinkles.

Palate

Oh, yes, milk chocolate heading to dark chocolate and the raisins back in there, and a little spice coming to the fore. The smoke tunes down to give the spice a dance, but this is very nice from the first sip. A little fruit flavour that is definitely showing the sherry but with no hint of sulphur: it’s like a chocolate cake with something like a teaspoon of Vin Santo added. And even Vin Santo in the nose on a further try. A little tobacco that nods to the leather of the nose, but that sweet old-fashioned tobacco that fathers smoked. I want to take my time with this so I return to the flavours again.

Finish

Long and doesn’t fade. The spice keeps steady and works like a twisting flame on the tongue. The flavour is again a little leathery with the peat smoke just apparent. The fruit is there too, like the aftertaste after orange chocolate (Terry’s). There’s little drying and again there’s an aftertaste like cinnamon here, but not at all strong. This all works together so well. I could drink this every day, but it would undervalue what it is. A sweet Islay flavour-fest that ticks all the boxes for me. And a coffee-like afterburn too, maybe from a well-made mocha, with (again) a brilliant balance between the coffee and choco! Yep, brilliant, with a score that could rise.

General description

Rund och djup, en ökad rökighet som aldrig tar över för mycket

Nose

Bildäck, hjulspår på en äng

Palate

Rund och fin i röken som tar över men här finns även sötare toner

Finish

Fin och inte för allvarlig i röken, går åt det något smörigare och nötigare hållet

General description

Neck pour.
Nose and palate are sweet with smoke, peat, some nutty sherry notes and caramel/toffee. Oily and viscous.
Medium finish with a little bite on the tongue and some candied sherry notes intermingled with slight bitterness.

General description

very sweet, tastes like a moderately smoky bit of peaty bourbon.

General description

Sherry, funk, and herbal on the nose. Later caramel and cranberry.
Chocolate, salty. Peppery end.

General description

Sehr interessantet Malt!

Nose

Zunächst intensiver Rauch, danach sehr viel Frucht und Gewürze.

Palate

Fruchtiger Antritt, der einer tollen Würze weicht, nach kurzer Zeit Pfeffer.

Finish

Pfeffrig, Eiche.

General description

peaty start, sweet finish, lots of toffee, caramel, sole sherry but not as much as the nose would hint at

General description

great, strong, rich and awesome coastal malt; phenomenally well balanced between peat smoke, fruit and oak

Nose

earthy, dark fire smoke with a lot of fruits, dates, blackberries; a hint of the sea, oak is sensible; with some time some nuts, too, gently some raisins

Palate

at first gentle, then all oak, fruit and spices, some hazelnuts; with time more spices tingly, coffee, earthy aromas remain

Finish

spice and peat smoke remain a long time, so do some dark cherries, oak, no bitterness!

General description

nose is rich, sweet grapes and raisins, giving way to peaty smoke. there's a savory note in between the two, maybe some mushroom? in time, a caramel scent can be found under the sherry fruits. taste is more thick sweet fruit, some burn, then a finish of figs and raisin into meaty campfire smoke. short finish

General description

Nice smokey flavor

General description

a very good combination of Sherry and smoke. very nice!

General description

Meets expectations

Palate

Toffee, melted white chocolate, pie crust, bread, honey, molasses and very oily.

General description

Hatte etwas mehr erwartet. Eigentlichkein Rauch. erinnert an Gebäck.

Nose

Sherry, Karamell, leichter Rauch, Gebäck. Aromen verfliegen schnell.

Palate

Fast gar kein Raucharoma, Kekse, Gebäck. Wärmend, Gewürze. Ich glaube da kann noch mehr entdeckt werden.

Finish

Relativ leicht und kurz, etwas Alkohol, etwas bitter, Gras.

General description

Ein rauchiger Whisky aus dem Sherry Fass. Ein Genuss.

General description

To me I think that it is better if I have a dram of something less peaty and a little less smoky like JWB first. Then, the flavors and the sweetness tend to stick out more. Profoundly better than Bowmore 12YO

Nose

Campfire Smoke, Peat, Hint of Sweetness like maybe a semi sweet dark chocolate

Palate

Smoke, Peat (not as profound as the 12 year old), hint of raisin, hint of semi sweet dark chocolate

Finish

Peat, a little more burn than the 12 year old, very light medicinal taste. I am leaving the finishing strength set on short, although I could almost consider it medium.

General description

Dont know why Bowmore doesnt click with me. Maybe it's too much like cough syrup? I like the sherry and peat combo, but too much cherry? Solid whisky, but not for me as a regular dram.

General description

perfectly balanced. light peat and earth with fruity and warm sweet sherry. It's a go to for when I can't decide between a sherry bomb and a peat bomb.

General description

little peat and coffee or black chocolate flavor

General description

sherry and peat.

General description

Definite sherry influence with dried fruit and oranges on the nose. Sweet and creamy with dark chocolate and bitter peels. The smoky flavors are a bit subdued but overall still an excellent and exceptionally smooth dram.

General description

sweet and peaty

General description

Tastes like candied apple

General description

Slight mild round peat. Did initially notice the sweet, rich though. Flavors linger

General description

mild. voll. holzfassnote. An der Grenze sein Geld wert zu sein.

General description

Just too much peat for me.

General description

A realy Good whisky

General description

mooi volle en ronde smaak. in de afdronk een hint van turf.

General description

Very balanced whisky with the right amount of Sherry notes and stronger smoky flavor. For my personal taste that one is located somewhere between a fruity light smoky Highland Park 12 and a heavily smoky Laphroaig Quater Cask. The only thing that bothered me was choosing the name "darkest" and adding sugar for the coloring. But a newer order of the Bowmore 15 did not have the naming "darkest" anymore - so maybe they have fixed it for the better.

General description

Sweet and smooth. For a sherry whisky, it's light on the sherry. And also added colour. This has a light touch of a lot of flavours. Fruit, caramel, chocolate, soft smoke, slight maritime note. Well rounded. But not very adventurous. No intensity. It's a good dram for dessert and relaxation. But I wish there was more sherry flavour and no added colour.

General description

Schon ein guter. Für mich aber der Rauch mit Sherry nicht ganz stimmig.

General description

Verry sharp for a 15 year but nice... Real nice
Maarten from the sckouting brougt it with him

General description

Well balanced, light peat and smoke.
Slightly sweet finish

General description

bit too peaty for my taste and the sherry notes are underrepresented.

Nose

fairly peaty, rich

Palate

pleasant peaty, sweet, fruity, bit of sherry

Finish

woody, spicy

General description

ein rauchigen und intensiver Whiskey

General description

Clearly an Islay whisky because of the nose, but surprisingly mild in flavours.

General description

Fireplace sipper!

Nose

Peat enveloped in Sherry, hint of sour cherry, caramel.

Palate

Nice acidity, noticeable mineral elements, moderately hot, front to mid palate. Nicely rounded, peat, cherry, hint of chocolate.

Finish

Peat does not linger. Fruit elements cling to the palate.

General description

memories and missing the Woody flavors. no iodine

General description

mellowed too much, missed the chipre scent

General description

zoet in de neus. Een beetje eik te ruiken.

General description

fruity on the nose. water adds heavy cherry on nose. taste is dry, nutty, slight peat. water made it sweater. short finish. short lingery smoke

General description

fein im Geschmack und angenehm rauchig

General description

very good mix from light smoke, vanilla and sweet fruits

Nose

sweet fruits, little honey. little malt and strong vanilla, very little smoke

Palate

little oily. sweet and smooth.

Finish

nice

General description

Dark and intense smokey taste. Hint of dark chocolate in the aftertaste.

General description

Sweet and rich with only faint touch of peat; almost bourbon tasting.

General description

This a dark whisky sweet with iodine on the nose.

Nose

Iodine smoke and sweetness on the nose.

Palate

Sweet raisins cherries and warm spice on the pallate smoked to a very warming finish.

Finish

Smoked finish a lot going on among all of those sweet beginnings.

General description

Ein wirklich guter Whisky. Preis/Leistung ist top. Leicht rauchig mit feinem Durchtritt des Sherry.

General description

sherry, little peat and smoke, feels so good

General description

This one has spent 12 years on 2nd fill and 3 years on oloroso casks. That, and the caramel colouring made this beautiful dark cognac colour.
They must have selected the darkest ones for this.
On the nose there's very litlle smoke for an Islay one. The smoke that is present, comes closer to bonfire, than to peat.
Dried fruits and raisins complete the nose.
The very rich and mature palet has no medical taste at all. The alcohol is perfectly in balance with the sherry and the cask wood.
The dry smooth medium finish starts of with dark fruits and prunes. Than the spice comes in an slowly starts to fade away.

Very nice in balance.
But peat lovers better leave this one for the sherry lovers.

85 points.

General description

Delightful whisky. Full of flavour and lovely blend of sherry, raisins, peat, smoke and spice

Nose

Strong aroma of sherry and dried fruit, reminiscent of Christmas pudding

Palate

The smooth sherry flavour is supplemented with a little peat, smoke and spice.

Finish

Peppery dark chocolate finish

General description

.

General description

My favorite peated whisky! Raisins and dark chocolate, good balanced peatyness at the end.

General description

Super ausbalancierte Whisky mit mildem Rauch, schöner Süße und angenehmer Würze.

Nose

Dunkle Früchte, Schokolade, leichter Rauch

Palate

Sirupartige Süße, Sherry, angenehme Rauchigkeit

Finish

Perfekte Balance zwischen Rauchigkeit, Süße und Würze. Sehr angenehmes Mundgefühl.

General description

Great combination of smoke and sherry. Very pleasant smoke aroma and taste in combination with sweet dark fruit. Addition of water makes it even sweeter. Love it!

General description

Very rich, very sweet, especially for an Islay. Not one that I'd reach for on a daily basis, but one best saved for when the mood is right.

General description

Du sherry tourbé. un régal.

General description

Bowmore is west not east.Dont put a drop of water in it.It dies.

General description

Not balanced. Too Smokey sherry...

General description

i think it s overrated. it s not well balanced.

Nose

sherry cherry wood alcoholic

Palate

light dark choco, cherry with spirit, lightly peated. alcoholic. herbal

Finish

long but not that long. wood. light peat. herbal

General description

pleasantly smokey with sweet notes