Tasting notes by Ruben Luyten (WhiskyNotes.be) 92/100

Nose: paraffin, mineral notes, grapefruits and lime. Hints of sourdough. Then oysters, damp gravel and hints of wet tweed. Apple peelings and barbecued pineapple. Lovely mango custard with vanilla as it opens up, as well as a whiff of medicinal menthol. Pretty perfect.

Mouth: really perfect. Exotic fruit juice mixed with seawater. Mango, pink grapefruit and passion fruits. Lemon liqueur, waxy hints and a slightly acrid, grassy smokiness. A few drops of late harvest Riesling too. Increasingly coastal, with drops of herbal tea towards the end.

Finish: long, slightly drier and more herbal, with vague smoke, a little beeswax and the usual seawater.

A beautiful hattrick! Overall this Bowmore stands out in my book, but I’m in a period when I’m rather partial to these tropical fruits with evolved peat. It needs some time but it’s all I ask for in old Bowmore.