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Bowmore Straight From The Cask 2002 Signatory Vintage 12 Year Old Single Malt. Islay, Scotland. ABV: 57.4%. Tasted at Whisky a Day HQ, $225 (500mL bottle).
Straight from a single cask of Bowmore whisky distilled on 2nd October 2002 and bottled 12 years later on 25th August 2015. Matured in an ex Sherry cask, it yielded an outturn of only 342 bottles at a natural cask strength of 57.4% ABV.
Colour: Bright golden caramel.
Nose: Golden syrup and soft sultanas, soft oak and a gentle dustiness and light smoke. My trusted whisky tasting lieutenant Kiwi also picked up hazelnuts.
Palate: Rich flavours of sticky date pudding, smokey treacle, raisins and dried cranberries.
Finish: Smoky; salted liquorice and oak, with a long salty fade.
Comments: Sometimes you feel like lashing out on a special whisky to commemorate a special event or to reflect on something significant in your life. Today was Day 1 of a big promotion at work, an opportunity to take a step up to an exciting new role. This Bowmore Straight From The Cask was the bottle I chose to mark the occasion.
This is the whisky you reach for when you’re in a reflective mood. When you’re deep in thought about something important in your life and you just lean back to have a quiet moment to reflect. The celebration of a significant accomplishment; the anguish of disappointing someone you love – or anything on the spectrum in between.
And when reach to take another sip and your thoughts drift back to the whisky at hand, you realise there’s so much to appreciate in this drop. This is a real thinker’s whisky.