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9th June 2014 |
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15 members of
the Scotch Malt Whisky Forum review the
new travel retail exclusive Bowmore Black Rock
whisky.
 Following
the recent launch of the new travel
retail exclusive
Bowmore Black Rock single malt
whisky I asked a a number of
knowledgeable whisky drinking members of
the sites
Scotch Malt Whisky Forum to sample
and submit their review
of the new whisky.
The
Bowmore Black Rock was matured
predominately in first fill ex-Spanish
sherry casks and was bottled at 40% ABV
and is presented in a 1 litre bottle
with an RRP of £45.
I
believe this is quite a unique tasting
which will generate some very honest,
totally independent reviews from a bunch of knowledgeable whisky drinkers who have
nothing to gain from giving the whisky a
positive review. I wish I could say the
same about all the reviews you can find
on the numerous whisky blogs which have
sprouted up in the last few years, but I
can't.
All
the forum members taking part in the
review were asked to submit their review
direct to myself therefore no-one was
influenced by anyone else's review and
as it is a newly released whisky I am
not aware of any other reviews of the
new whisky so the reviews below are
amongst the first, if not the first.
The Scotch Malt Whisky Forum Tasting
Panel
The
international tasting panel of Scotch
Malt Whisky Forum members who took part in the Bowmore Black
Rock tasting were:
- William Morrison (myself), Quaich1, albo, bifter, Alexppp, Keith, Fergie, John, Archer, Genuine Risk, whisky_rob, TheWM, drPete, JAB, Millie_chops.
Scotch Malt Whisky Forum
Bowmore Black Rock tasting average score: 83/100
See below for all the SMW forum
members tasting notes and comments on
the Bowmore Black Rock or if you have a
comment to make about the whisky
yourself or any other whisky then why
not visit the sites
Scotch Malt Whisky Forum.
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SMW Forum Members Bowmore Black Rock
Tasting
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William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Subtle sweet Bowmore
peat smoke, mild burnt raisins, cigar
box.
Taste:
Rich sherried sweetness balances well
with a touch of bitter dark chocolate,
burnt raisins and sultanas, some toffee
and a touch of white pepper, cinnamon and dry ginger
all coated in a mild Bowmore smoke.
Finish: Longish. Burnt raisins
and slightly tangy orange fades leaving
a mildly drying mild Bowmore sea salt peatiness.
Comment:
Another example that Bowmore does well
in sherry casks, this replaces the
Enigma and is very much a younger
version of the Enigma. I do enjoy
Bowmore's quite unique
peat smoke and I know many
others do also. I have gotten through a
few bottles of the Enigma over the years
and although I wouldn't rate the new
Bowmore Black Rock quite as highly as
the older Enigma (although it isn't far
away) I would be more than happy to pick
up a bottle from the airport, with an RRP of £45 for a 1 litre bottle
which I think
is not too bad a price for a peaty
sherried Islay whisky in today's
marketplace.
Score
83/100
Quaich1's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Turkish delight
floating on Morrocan spices. Smoking
ambers meld with cured pacific salmon.
Sunflower seed notes and charcoal smoke
appear as time goes by. Cherry and dark
chocolate.
Taste:
Peppery peat, billowing smoke with
detectable heat. More intense spice with
a slight presence of Maraschino cherry
in the background.
Finish: Long, drying, layers of
smoke and fireplace reminiscences
from coal to ambers to ash all enveloped
in smoke.
Comment:
I was impressed with the appealing shift
from nose to palate, going from mature
sweetness to bold and intense smoky
spicy peat. The finish does not go
unnoticed. Definitely a Bowmore and a
nice addition to the line at what
appears to be quite a reasonable price
point.
Score 84.5/100
bifter's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Some hay and heather initially. Figs. cigars.
Wispy smoke, oil.
Taste:
Sweet entry - figs, raisins, nuts. Tangy
citrus, peel. Slight briny note. Gentle
smokiness. Oily mouthfeel.
Finish: Short to medium length. Dries. Softly tannic.
Comment:
I'm not normally a big Bowmore fan but I
enjoyed this. It's smooth and easy
drinking and, despite being NAS, it's
not noticeably youthful. I do feel that
the oloroso notes dominate a little too
much though. For me, it doesn't quite
match the Enigma that it replaces and it
also comes with a price hike,
unfortunately.
A bit like a lightly peated Aberlour 10?
Score 80/100
albo's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Lots and lots of sweetness with meandering smoke,
hints of wooden bracken, slight coffee
notes and some coconut and newspaper.
Taste:
Some sweet notes brown sugar, green
wood, some smoke but not over bearing,
then back to sweet raisins possibly
chocolate coated raisins.
Finish: Longer than expected, but that's more to do with the
sherry than the smoke. a touch bitter
and not in a good way unfortunately. The
finish is long but not that enjoyable.
Comment:
I like the sherry influence, I worried
it might be sulphured but not a bit of
it, the colour leads me to wonder if
there is added colouring? I like the
nose and the taste, both are worth the
effort, but for me the finish is a let
down, it's long but has a bitter note to
it, it's over balanced with the sherry
and sadly leaves the Islay influence
behind.
Nice but not great.
Score 82/100
Alexppp's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dark fruit, sweet smoke (quite discreet at first
nosing but becomes more assertive
later).
Taste:
Impressively full-bodied given the 40%
ABV. Not very complex and quite
'modern', with a sweet/smoky duality
typical of other young-ish peaty
whiskies. Other than sherry sweetness
and smoke there's not a great deal going
on, though there are lemony/briny notes
in the background.
Finish: Unexpectedly dry, on smoked fish (kippers?), brine
and a somewhat off-putting sweet note.
Comment:
This is a pleasant whisky, one I would
consider buying. It is not, however, at
the level of its predecessor the Bowmore
Enigma, whose comparative maturity adds
more depth and richness. It's a typical
80/100 whisky in my book - pleasant,
delivers the expected dollop of sherry
and peat, but lacks the complexity and
depth to elevate it to the next level.
For comparison, I would probably have
the Bowmore 15 Darkest at 84/85 and the
Enigma at 86/87.
Score 80/100
John's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Mild sweet smoke,
some dark fruit.
Taste:
A mild sweet smokiness intertwined with
sweet sherry and bit of honey.
Finish: A touch of bitter coffee
which is kept in check by the sweet
sherry, slightly drying.
Comment:
I know the Bowmore Black Rock has no age
statement, my guess is it is around 8
year old perhaps topped up with a
portion of 12 year old, I enjoyed it and
it offers pretty good value in today's
market as it is a 1 litre bottle but it
falls short of the quality of the
Bowmore Enigma which it replaces. I do
like Bowmore so I would be tempted if I
saw it on offer at the airport.
Score
84/100
Fergie's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Light smoke,
tangerine and a hint of lime
Taste:
A brown sugar sweetness, light Bowmore
smoke and a bit of honey, raisin, zesty
orange peel
Finish: Long, drying sweet oak
and sherried mild smoke, turns slightly
bitter.
Comment:
I enjoyed it, lacks some maturity and I
think it could be massively improved if
they upped the ABV but you could say
that about most whiskies.
Score
86/100
Keith's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Cherry and peat smoke
with some honey in the background.
Taste:
A lot happening, a sherried sweetness,
honeyed melon, lemon, burnt raisins,
cinnamon, dark chocolate.
Finish: The sweetness in the
mouth turns a little bitter, some drying
sherried oak spice.
Comment:
Has a bit of youthfulness about it but I
liked it, sherry and Bowmore works for
me, it doesn't match up to the more
mature 12 year old Enigma or 15 year old
Darkest but I didn't expect it to with
its no age statement, I suspect it is
around 8/10 years old having said that I
wanted another pour after I had drunk my
sample so I think I would buy a bottle.
Score
84/100
Archer's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet, bit of oak,
dark chocolate, cherry and raisins.
Taste:
Sweet sherried light smoke, heathery
honey, dark chocolate raisins, zesty
orange and lemon. Then some coffee
bitterness.
Finish: Drying mild sweet peat
smoke fades leaving some oak spice and a
touch of bitter coffee.
Comment:
Typical Bowmore peat which sits well
with the sherry sweetness, a good bit of
young stuff in it I think, a nice
balance of mild peat and mild sherry.
Lacking in maturity which lets it down a
little.
Score
86/100
Genuine
Risk's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Peat smoke, vanilla, cherry becomes dominant over
time.
Taste:
sweet peat, pepper, dark chocolate and
bitter coffee.
Finish: Bitter sweet medium-long.
Comment:
Decent enough and doesn't suffer over
badly from being 40%. Very nice nose
brings up the score but bitter finish
brings it down. Palate works well but
not overly complex.
Score 84/100
whisky_rob's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Peat, smokey oranges, sticky toffee pudding,
fresh oysters.
Taste:
More fruity citrus, still oranges make
that burnt chocolate oranges, fruit
tobacco, crisp sea air.
Finish: Sweet citrus ice cream with some pepper notes, fresh
burn wood.
Comment:
What I would think mixing a traditional
Bowmore with a Glenfarclas 15 would
taste like. A lot more fruit than
expected and although I'd say it could
do with a bit more strength like the 100
degrees proof, overall I would probably
buy a bottle when the forementioned 100
degrees proof is unavailable. Not an old
whisky I guess but very youthful and
quite exciting to nose and taste.
Score 89/100
TheWM's
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rubber notes with
some summer fruits? Pear maybe.
Taste:
Immediate weakness, feels like it has
been watered down already. Some
sweetness lingering in the background,
and the start of the bitterness is here.
A bit spicy.
Finish: Bitterness gives way to a
dry and surprisingly long numbness.
Slight menthol hints and the end, with a
touch of cinammon?
Comment:
I'm led by the fact that I know it's a
Bowmore makes me initially think of what
is missing in the nose and taste. The
finish is quite exceptional in
comparison to the taste which I
initially thought was a bit too
delicate. That said, I made a comment
about the Bowmore 12 recently that I
though made an excellent summer whisky.
This shares many characteristics in it's
lightness and easy drinking feel to it.
I'm sure this has younger elements to it
given its sharpness but whilst not
blowing me away, I can see will bring
more new drinkers to Bowmore given it
has a lack of the traditional smoky,
peatiness to it. I'd buy at the right
price, which to me would be around £25
as I rate the Small Batch Reserve
higher. But horses for courses etc...
Score 75/100
drPete's Tasting Notes:
Nose: A classic salty Islay waft with a hint of
sweetness beneath.
Taste:
Very generous gobfuls of peat with some
sherry in the background but not coming
through. Some sweet (caramelised fruit?)
notes come through.
Finish: Long and lingering, peat fading out to a lighter,
oily sensation.
Comment:
In a word - unbalanced. Far, far too
much peat on the tastebuds which
overwhelms the rest of the flavours.
I'm not a regular Bowmore drinker
(truthfully not a fan either - have
tried a number over the years and just
not "got"). I do enjoy whisky with big
flavours from Islay and Skye. I'm ready
to try anything new (and free!!). Sadly,
this was a disappointment, I don't
recommend it.
Score 75/100
Millie_chops's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Slight smoke with a
very subtle medicinal aroma and a hint
of vanilla and sherry.
Taste:
Touch of peat with even more smoke and a
sweetness to it. Slightly salty and
quite spicy.
Finish: Left with a subtle taste
of peat and spices and a lasting smoky
finish.
Comment:
Having never tasted Bowmore previously I
Was quite excited when opening up the
sample. I Thoroughly enjoyed the Bowmore
Blackrock and was sad when I had
finished my sample. I Would definitely
contemplate picking up a bottle of this
next time I'm travelling.
Score
87/100
JAB's Tasting Notes:
Nose: Stewed tropical fruit
with summer berries with light smoked
coals on the cosst and sweet malt.
Taste:
Sweet sherried fruits with a sea
influence and some light peat smoke with
a wee bit of peppered citrus.
Finish: Sweet fruity sherried
smoke hangs around on the tongue.
Comment:
Overall a lovely fruity sherried dram
from Bowmore but have to think it is
lacking a little would be great to see
it at a higher ABV % but can't fault the
price for a litre bottle.
Score
80/100
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Bowmore Travel Retail Range
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The
Bowmore Black Rock joins the newly released
Bowmore Gold Reef and also the repackaged Bowmore 17 which is
now known as the
Bowmore White Sands 17 Year Old the three whiskies join the
existing
Bowmore Spring Tide which was
launched in 2012 and sits at
the top of the Bowmore travel retail
exclusive range.
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Where To Buy Bowmore Whisky
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of specialist Whisky shops who delivers
to you:
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